I knocked down a wall and lost half my kitchen storage

Cream kitchen with stainless steel stove and extractor fan, framed by ceramic vase with wooden spoons, vase of flowers and wooden serving boards — (Image credit: Leah Hodson)

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My little secret

Home decorator and content creator Leah Hodson is one of Ideal Home's new Open House contributors, sharing her thoughts on overhauling a home with clever DIY and decorating tricks. See the rest of her articles here.

We’ve spent the last 6 months renovating our house – at this point it feels like a full house overhaul! The reality is that it started off as a small extension, morphed into garage conversion before then adding a loft conversion.

I never thought I’d say this, but I’m so happy to be cooking again! I love meal time with my family but the cooking part...not so much! However, after 6 months of creative cooking, using a combination of a camping stove, microwave and airfryer – I’m so happy to be cooking properly again!

The kitchen before

Let's take it all back to the start. I inherited a tight galley kitchen and the layout just didn’t work!

The stove was in the corner and the fridge was right behind it, with the side door in-between where we took all our rubbish out. Not ideal at all to be cooking, especially with my husband trying to break down the recycling as well! The sink was in an awkward position too, being off center from the large 1960s window.

The upside, however, was how much storage there was in the kitchen! It was functional, but it wasn’t the room I wanted to be in other than to cook.

Vase of flowers and bottle of cordial on marble effect worktop in neutral kitchen

The kitchen after

During our renovation, I knew I wanted to knock down the wall between the kitchen and the dining room.

I’m not a big fan of a massive open plan kitchen/dining room/living room, but a must for me is to be able to eat in the kitchen. Therefore, I opted for an open plan kitchen and dining room instead. This drastically reduced the amount of storage that I had in the kitchen. I went for Smile Kitchen’s Jenson Range in Clay and this meant more storage compared to an inframe style.

A kitchen is such a costly expense and so many problems can happen along the way - we experienced our fair share with delivery delays and damages, however I'm happy with the end result.

Neutral kitchen with grey cabinets and stainless steel stove

Storage

One would think storage would have been lacking since we removed a whole wall of floor to ceiling units. However, when filling the cupboards, there was enough space for all my things!

It’s a small little addition but the spice rack on the side of my range cooker is my favourite part – it stores all my spices neatly and out of the way.

I kept the wall units minimal, only choosing to have 2 wall cabinets instead of having them on every wall in the kitchen. They hold my growing collection of glassware in one and our daily essentials, like teas and coffees and snacks, in another.

But this doesn’t mean that I haven’t found storage elsewhere – cue the pantry and utility!

Corner of kitchen with grey cabinetry, neutral walls and marble style worktops beneath scalloped pendant light

Lighting

I believe that the right lighting completes a room! In our kitchen, it's no exception with the lighting choices I have gone for.

For practical reasons, I’ve chosen downlights, a much needed change from our previous set up where I was squinting in winter while preparing dinners.

For ambient lighting, I have chosen Edit Iris Ceramic Ceiling Pendant Light from Lighting Direct flanking the sink. This makes the room more cosy and visually reduces the size of my large 1960s window.

The pendant lights complement the Wisteria Mabel Rattan 3 Light Bar Ceiling Pendant, also from Lighting Direct, my preferred choice for the dining room area that gives a cosy feel.

Kitchen neutral cabinetry, pale cafe curtain at window and with three wicker pendant lights above wooden table

My little secret

Want to know my little secret for an amazing smelling kitchen? It’s the cleaning products that I use! Previously I shared that I love Bower Collective’s limescale remover, but in my kitchen I’m using their All Purpose Cleaner from their Bower Collective x Roald Dahl’s limited edition James and the Giant Peach range which smells divine – a fresh peach fragrance infused with natural essential oils.

When doing a renovation, it’s important to take a step back and look at how far you’ve come. From a kitchen that you never liked, to living in a dusty renovation and eventually creating the kitchen of your dreams.

It’s important to look back and see the progress, reminding yourself that the finished product is coming!

Leah is a home interiors enthusiast, DIY devotee, and self-confessed lover of all things beige (but you can never call the beige that she does boring!). Her popular Instagram account, The Stanley Diary, has over 10,000 followers, who want to be inspired by her affordable home renovations.

With a background that includes a brief summer internship writing wedding features (long before she got married herself), her real passion lies in interiors. Leah love creating spaces that feel warm, cosy, and full of character. Over the past five years, since getting the keys to her first home, she’s been living and breathing interiors, armed with a power tool in one hand and a Pinterest board in the other.