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Kitchen Tour: A Reconfigured Layout Brings Light and Connectivity
Totally reimagining how a downstairs space could flow allowed the kitchen to become the heart of this modern family home
Bronwen Gombert’s clients had come to the realisation that their home just wasn’t working for their young family and wondered if adding an extension and a new outdoor area might solve their problems. They began looking on Houzz to find an architect and, after seeing Bronwen’s profile, invited her to view the property to see for herself what the issues were.
“It’s quite a large house, but the ground floor layout had split levels and some really bad planning that meant that, although there was a lot of floor area, it was inefficiently and ineffectively used,” Bronwen says. She initially explored what extending might achieve, but, in the end, found that reconfiguring the ground floor created the perfect space for the family with far less hassle and expense.
To see more great projects where the homeowner found their professional via Houzz, take a look at our Born on Houzz series.
“It’s quite a large house, but the ground floor layout had split levels and some really bad planning that meant that, although there was a lot of floor area, it was inefficiently and ineffectively used,” Bronwen says. She initially explored what extending might achieve, but, in the end, found that reconfiguring the ground floor created the perfect space for the family with far less hassle and expense.
To see more great projects where the homeowner found their professional via Houzz, take a look at our Born on Houzz series.
Having the kitchen at the front had created problems when the children wanted to be in the garden, but the couple were busy in the kitchen.
“As a family with young children, you spend a lot of time outside, and where the kitchen was located there was no oversight of the garden,” Bronwen says.
“As a family with young children, you spend a lot of time outside, and where the kitchen was located there was no oversight of the garden,” Bronwen says.
Now the kitchen has been moved to the back and connects seamlessly to the outside space. Bronwen also created a cloakroom and a utility room where the kitchen had previously been, giving the family a far better indoor-outdoor living arrangement.
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Find reviewed architects and interior designers in your area on Houzz today.
The ground floor plan before Bronwen set to work.
The floor plan now, which shows how reconfiguring a space can make a huge difference to the way a home flows and functions.
Bronwen also suggested knocking through to create a huge doorway to the outside and installing glazed bifold doors – an idea that would give the family much better connectivity and more natural light.
Positioning the dining area where the view of the garden could be enjoyed as part of the kitchen worked well, as previously the dining room had been separate.
Having come up with a layout, Bronwen then called in kitchen company Anthony Mullan Furniture to handle the practical elements and help the couple make more detailed design choices. The duo opted for Shaker-style cabinets and a large island topped with white quartz to maximise the available light.
Wall cabinetry painted in Cornforth White; island painted in Hague Blue, both Farrow & Ball.
Wall cabinetry painted in Cornforth White; island painted in Hague Blue, both Farrow & Ball.
The couple followed Bronwen’s advice to use the back wall as open storage, and chose a TV that doubles as wall art, so it blends with its surroundings.
The separate utility room, which has been painted in the same colour as the kitchen cabinetry for continuity, offers plenty of additional storage and allows the hard-working elements to be hidden away from the open-plan space.
Now every inch of space has been used and there are no ‘dead areas’, as there had been in the previous layout.
Key for Bronwen was ensuring the downstairs rooms flowed into one another. The living room had parquet-style flooring, which the owners loved, so she extended that throughout the ground floor to enhance the feeling of connectivity.
Bronwen also widened the doorways and installed glazed doors, so the overriding feeling is of space and light throughout, and views of the garden can be enjoyed across the ground floor.
Bronwen also widened the doorways and installed glazed doors, so the overriding feeling is of space and light throughout, and views of the garden can be enjoyed across the ground floor.
The project took six months to complete, and did not go without a hitch. “It was quite fiddly,” Bronwen says. “The poor builder did find a number of problems as we went along; there were a couple of manholes that were hiding under the floor, and we also found some steelwork that we hadn’t foreseen that caused issues when we were trying to raise the floor.”
Nevertheless, these challenges were nothing compared to what the owners might have encountered if they’d gone for a full extension. “The answer isn’t always to extend; it can be to make the existing space work harder and better,” Bronwen says. “That way, you don’t have to go through the planning process – that’s when all sorts of delays can creep in, and additional stress.”
Nevertheless, these challenges were nothing compared to what the owners might have encountered if they’d gone for a full extension. “The answer isn’t always to extend; it can be to make the existing space work harder and better,” Bronwen says. “That way, you don’t have to go through the planning process – that’s when all sorts of delays can creep in, and additional stress.”
The owners are thrilled with the way their house has been transformed, and particularly delighted with how their kitchen has become the hub of the home and a space where the whole family can congregate.
“I just think the amount of natural light flooding the space has lifted it,” Bronwen says. “You now get the connection from the front of the house all the way through to the back, uninterrupted views throughout, and a great flow of space.”
Tell us…
What do you like about Bronwen’s reconfiguration of this ground floor? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
“I just think the amount of natural light flooding the space has lifted it,” Bronwen says. “You now get the connection from the front of the house all the way through to the back, uninterrupted views throughout, and a great flow of space.”
Tell us…
What do you like about Bronwen’s reconfiguration of this ground floor? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
Who lives here? A professional couple with two young children
Location Maidenhead, Berkshire
Property A detached house with an annexe
Size Five bedrooms and three bathrooms; the annexe has one bedroom and one bathroom
Designer Bronwen Gombert of Connected Architecture
Kitchen design Anthony Mullan Furniture
Bronwen devised a plan to move the kitchen from the front of the house to the back, where the dining room was. Next to the dining room was an empty room that was rarely used, partly because these two areas were on different levels, so she proposed levelling the ground floor to make it less disjointed and opening up the space to improve the flow.
“I looked carefully at what was currently in the space and tried to be sensible about connecting into existing services, because financially that’s a huge benefit,” Bronwen says.
She also drew heavily on her own experience as a mum when working on zoning the area. “I have a good understanding of what makes a kitchen work well from a layout point of view, and I often have discussions with clients regarding positioning sinks with views out, and hearing how they see themselves using the space.”