Kitchen Tour: A Colourful Yet Calm Family Space
This airy kitchen-diner cleverly combines strong colour with wood and neutrals to create a fun yet soothing environment
Kate Burt
10 April 2023
Houzz UK. I'm a journalist and editor, previously for the Independent, Guardian and various magazines. I'm now excited to part of the editorial team at Houzz UK & Ireland, bringing the best of British and Irish design, interiors and architecture to Houzz.com.
Houzz UK. I'm a journalist and editor, previously for the Independent, Guardian and... More
The owners of this Victorian terrace – a family with small children – called on the services of interior designer Gemma Fabbri of Studio Fabbri to collaborate with their architect on a kitchen extension. Gemma worked on an internal layout for the new room, as well as advising on materials and colours.
“[The owners] wanted an open-plan space that would work for them and their growing family – somewhere they could dine and entertain, with a well-functioning kitchen, a laundry space, and somewhere for the children to be playing and also on view,” Gemma says. “They wanted it to feel fun and colourful, but also calm.”
And how do they feel about the result? “They absolutely love it,” she says.
“[The owners] wanted an open-plan space that would work for them and their growing family – somewhere they could dine and entertain, with a well-functioning kitchen, a laundry space, and somewhere for the children to be playing and also on view,” Gemma says. “They wanted it to feel fun and colourful, but also calm.”
And how do they feel about the result? “They absolutely love it,” she says.
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here? A family with two young children
Location Walthamstow, London
Property A Victorian terrace with three bedrooms and two bathrooms
Room dimensions The kitchen area is 6.6m x 3.6m; the dining area is 2.9m x 2.5m
Designer Gemma Fabbri of Studio Fabbri
Architect Rosie Craggs of SS4 Architects
Project year 2023
Photos by Chris Snook
“[The owners] love pinks, yellows and greens – the question was how to put them together so they wouldn’t look insane,” Gemma says. “So we zoned them.”
The kitchen features yellow and Gemma says she paired this with oak “to make it feel more grown-up and to soften it”. There’s a hint of pink in the island pendant lights, while the green – a soft, pale shade – appears on the bench cushion and the linoleum floor.
Oak cabinet and drawer fronts covered in Formica Sol, Plykea. Marmoleum flooring in Rosemary Green, Forbo.
Who lives here? A family with two young children
Location Walthamstow, London
Property A Victorian terrace with three bedrooms and two bathrooms
Room dimensions The kitchen area is 6.6m x 3.6m; the dining area is 2.9m x 2.5m
Designer Gemma Fabbri of Studio Fabbri
Architect Rosie Craggs of SS4 Architects
Project year 2023
Photos by Chris Snook
“[The owners] love pinks, yellows and greens – the question was how to put them together so they wouldn’t look insane,” Gemma says. “So we zoned them.”
The kitchen features yellow and Gemma says she paired this with oak “to make it feel more grown-up and to soften it”. There’s a hint of pink in the island pendant lights, while the green – a soft, pale shade – appears on the bench cushion and the linoleum floor.
Oak cabinet and drawer fronts covered in Formica Sol, Plykea. Marmoleum flooring in Rosemary Green, Forbo.
The backdrop doesn’t fight with the colour, creating a calm mood. “We didn’t want to add more fuss and so used lots of neutrals – light grey microcement for the worktops, pale splashback tiles, and a soft green-white paint on the walls,” Gemma says.
She also designed the living room, which you get a glimpse of at the far end of the kitchen. “It’s really, really green. We wanted a contrast, so made it dark. It feels very cosy,” she says. The room is open to the kitchen as doors would have taken up valuable floor space.
Kitchen walls painted in Honest John, Mylands. Minima ceiling spots, Astro Lighting. Globe ribbed ceramic wall light, Dyke & Dean. Living room walls painted in Ditch the Tie, Coat Paints.
She also designed the living room, which you get a glimpse of at the far end of the kitchen. “It’s really, really green. We wanted a contrast, so made it dark. It feels very cosy,” she says. The room is open to the kitchen as doors would have taken up valuable floor space.
Kitchen walls painted in Honest John, Mylands. Minima ceiling spots, Astro Lighting. Globe ribbed ceramic wall light, Dyke & Dean. Living room walls painted in Ditch the Tie, Coat Paints.
Laying the splashback tiles vertically ties in with a subtle theme of vertical lines also seen in the fluted light fittings and some of the oak joinery.
Find kitchen designers in your area on Houzz today.
Find kitchen designers in your area on Houzz today.
“The owners wanted as much storage as possible,” Gemma says. “That’s why we put in wall cabinets rather than an open shelf. It also meant we could hide an extractor behind the cupboards.
Case pendant lights, Vitamin.
Case pendant lights, Vitamin.
There’s more storage inside the bench seating (see next photo); this was designed to hold all the children’s toys. There’s as much floor space as possible here to allow for a play mat to be rolled out.
The Marmoleum lino flooring is carbon neutral, extremely durable and compatible with the underfloor heating installed in here.
The Marmoleum lino flooring is carbon neutral, extremely durable and compatible with the underfloor heating installed in here.
The bench seating has a yellow interior to match the kitchen and the lids are on special hinges that hold them open independently – helping to keep little fingers safe.
The owner was very keen to have somewhere in the kitchen to display plants and cookbooks, so Gemma created a shelf that runs at the bottom of the wooden joists. “You get so much natural light there, so it’s perfect for plants,” she says.
The construction is, where possible, timber-framed to reduce the project’s carbon footprint. It was also very well insulated.
The owner was very keen to have somewhere in the kitchen to display plants and cookbooks, so Gemma created a shelf that runs at the bottom of the wooden joists. “You get so much natural light there, so it’s perfect for plants,” she says.
The construction is, where possible, timber-framed to reduce the project’s carbon footprint. It was also very well insulated.
There’s more green in the painted wooden dining chairs, as well as the steel beam, which is painted in a darker sage shade.
Steel beam painted in Green, Lick.
Steel beam painted in Green, Lick.
This floorplan shows the space before the extension. There had been a downstairs bathroom in the existing outrigger and the side return had yet to be incorporated.
And here’s the layout now, designed by architect Rosie Craggs.
Gemma created a slimline island with a waterfall finish at one end.
“We chose not to put the cooking area on the island, as it’s only one cupboard deep and it didn’t feel safe to have a hob on it,” Gemma says. Instead, it houses the sink, a dishwasher, pull-out bins and pan drawers.
“We chose not to put the cooking area on the island, as it’s only one cupboard deep and it didn’t feel safe to have a hob on it,” Gemma says. Instead, it houses the sink, a dishwasher, pull-out bins and pan drawers.
In the pre-extension layout, seating, cooking and dining were in separate spaces and there was no connection to the garden.
Although it looks as if the whole run on the island is drawers, the ones closest to the camera is, in fact, a pull-down door, behind which is the dishwasher.
The ply cabinetry is beautifully made and has cut-out handles.
More: Room Tour: Birch Ply Cabinets Complement the View in a 1960s Flat
More: Room Tour: Birch Ply Cabinets Complement the View in a 1960s Flat
The pink part of the kitchen houses lots of practical elements. There’s storage above and below the combination oven, and behind the stool is a washing machine and a laundry and utility cupboard. To the right of the oven is a pull-out larder and next to that it’s the fridge-freezer.
Cabinet doors covered in Formica Just Rose, Plykea.
Cabinet doors covered in Formica Just Rose, Plykea.
There’s yet more storage in the bench seating in the dining area. The solid oak table is extendable for flexibility, and the oak pendant lights match. London stock brickwork ties in tonally and the overall feeling is soft, warm and woody.
Material pendants in oak, New Works.
Material pendants in oak, New Works.
The dining area benefits from corner bifolding doors. When they’re open, it’s a real indoor-outdoor space. The plan is to fill the patio with lush pot plants to ramp up this feel.
Seen from the exterior, you get a clear view through to the front of the house. The vertical panelling gave Gemma her cues for the fluted and panelled details inside.
Of the result she says, “The owners feel the space really reflects them and say they never know where to look for a favourite spot, as they just love it all!”
Tell us…
What do you like most about Gemma’s design? Let us know in the Comments.
Of the result she says, “The owners feel the space really reflects them and say they never know where to look for a favourite spot, as they just love it all!”
Tell us…
What do you like most about Gemma’s design? Let us know in the Comments.
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Where the oven is, there doesn't seem to be any where near by to put the hot and heavy pans down onto when you take them out of the oven. I always like to make sure there's a work top near my oven when designing a kitchen.