Kitchen Tour: A Side-return Extension Creates a Light Dining Area
A small addition turned a cramped kitchen in a narrow Victorian house into a bright, sociable space
Sarah Warwick
12 January 2019
Houzz Contributor. I'm a freelance journalist and editor writing for nationals, magazines and websites. A serial house revamper, I love great design, beautiful interiors and practical solutions.
Houzz Contributor. I'm a freelance journalist and editor writing for nationals, magazines... More
The owners of this Victorian home were blessed with a handsome house, but the ground floor rooms were segmented and poorly connected. A growing family and a desire to make space for entertaining meant action was required.
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here? A professional couple and their two children
Location Herne Hill, London
Property A Victorian terraced house with five bedrooms and three bathrooms
Kitchen-diner dimensions 33 sq m, of which 9 sq m is the extension
Architects Frederik Rissom and Anke Edwardes of R2 Studio Architects
Photos by Andy Stagg
An extension into the side courtyard at the rear of this Victorian house created space for a dining area in the kitchen. “We didn’t extend the full length, but stopped half way to retain some of the courtyard,” architect Frederik Rissom says.
Who lives here? A professional couple and their two children
Location Herne Hill, London
Property A Victorian terraced house with five bedrooms and three bathrooms
Kitchen-diner dimensions 33 sq m, of which 9 sq m is the extension
Architects Frederik Rissom and Anke Edwardes of R2 Studio Architects
Photos by Andy Stagg
An extension into the side courtyard at the rear of this Victorian house created space for a dining area in the kitchen. “We didn’t extend the full length, but stopped half way to retain some of the courtyard,” architect Frederik Rissom says.
The kitchen cabinetry was bought off the shelf, but was ordered primed, so it could be given a bespoke finish in a blue paint – a colour that features throughout the house. “It’s very economical to use an existing system as a base and then customise it,” Frederik says.
The herringbone timber parquet runs throughout the ground floor, linking the spaces.
Kitchen cabinets, Crown Imperial; painted in Hague Blue, Farrow & Ball. Oiled oak herringbone flooring with micro-bevels, The Natural Wood Floor Company.
The herringbone timber parquet runs throughout the ground floor, linking the spaces.
Kitchen cabinets, Crown Imperial; painted in Hague Blue, Farrow & Ball. Oiled oak herringbone flooring with micro-bevels, The Natural Wood Floor Company.
Skylights above the side addition bring masses of daylight into the kitchen-diner. The vertical panels act like louvres to reflect light into the home’s central room behind the kitchen.
A bench was built on the wall side of the dining table. As well as providing seating for meals, it’s a place for reading or working on screen in the nook created by the lower ceiling in this spot. Inside the bench is storage for toys and more.
The wall here is painted in green, which anchors the table and zones the area. “We were looking for a gentle colour that’s a link to the garden and a contrast to the otherwise white space,” Frederik says.
Wall painted in Garden, Little Greene.
Browse kitchen and dining furniture in the Houzz Shop.
A bench was built on the wall side of the dining table. As well as providing seating for meals, it’s a place for reading or working on screen in the nook created by the lower ceiling in this spot. Inside the bench is storage for toys and more.
The wall here is painted in green, which anchors the table and zones the area. “We were looking for a gentle colour that’s a link to the garden and a contrast to the otherwise white space,” Frederik says.
Wall painted in Garden, Little Greene.
Browse kitchen and dining furniture in the Houzz Shop.
The hob is positioned on the long island unit and allows the cook a view out to the side of the house and the raised planting there. “It was important that it felt as if the owners were cooking in the garden,” Frederik says.
A glass corner brings the terrace and garden into the kitchen, while the green columns echo the exterior shades.
The glass corner is fixed and the door to the exterior hinged. “The ceiling is high, so the door is huge and we wanted it to read as a tall door,” Frederik explains. “It reflects the proportions of the window above.”
Read reviews of garden designers in your area.
Read reviews of garden designers in your area.
Insulating the house to high levels was also an important part of the project, because the owners found their home cold and draughty before. New windows were fitted, the walls were insulated on the inside, and the floors were insulated, too.
The brickwork was also washed and repointed in breathable lime. “It avoids the condensation you get with thermal upgrades,” Frederik says.
Tell us…
What do you like about this extended kitchen-diner? Share your thoughts in the Comments section.
The brickwork was also washed and repointed in breathable lime. “It avoids the condensation you get with thermal upgrades,” Frederik says.
Tell us…
What do you like about this extended kitchen-diner? Share your thoughts in the Comments section.
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Really good to see an extension that doesn't go fully to the boundary closing up the space at the side. This idea lets light into the middle of the house that is often lost when a full width extension goes fully into the side return. I like the small beds next to the glazing and the planting, it breaks up what can be a harsh look.
What an amazing transformation. Amazing use of light and glass, this kitchen is now such a lovely bright, sociable space!