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Kitchen Tour: A Tiny Galley Goes From Overflowing to Organised
This bijou kitchen was a clutter magnet and felt dated, but a style overhaul and clever tweaks gave it order and beauty
The owner of this home had lived with an inherited kitchen for more than 10 years, during which time she’d updated the rest of her home with another interior designer, who’d then moved abroad. She found Natasha Burton of NB Interiors UK on Houzz – where she’d spotted another very small kitchen the designer had worked on – and got in touch. “She was quite nervous about working with someone new,” Natasha says, “but we got on really well.”
There wasn’t much room for change in the layout of this small room, but Natasha’s clever redesign has given it more than an aesthetic revamp. Along with a streamlined use of colour, materials and pattern, small changes to shelf lengths, doors and the location of wall hooks, plus a ‘disappearing’ boiler, have helped to create a sense of more space, as well as better-organised storage.
To see more great projects where the homeowner found their professional via Houzz, take a look at our Born on Houzz series.
There wasn’t much room for change in the layout of this small room, but Natasha’s clever redesign has given it more than an aesthetic revamp. Along with a streamlined use of colour, materials and pattern, small changes to shelf lengths, doors and the location of wall hooks, plus a ‘disappearing’ boiler, have helped to create a sense of more space, as well as better-organised storage.
To see more great projects where the homeowner found their professional via Houzz, take a look at our Born on Houzz series.
The whole project was streamlined thanks to the help of Houzz Pro tools, including the Product Clipper, which meant the owner could simply click to approve items Natasha had put onto a Houzz Mood Board.
The owner moved out to a place nearby during works, but Natasha could keep in touch via the shared Houzz Scheduler. “That was really helpful, so [the owner] could stay up to speed on where we were on the project and which trades were in when.”
Ready to revamp your kitchen? Find a reviewed interior designer or kitchen designer on Houzz today.
The owner moved out to a place nearby during works, but Natasha could keep in touch via the shared Houzz Scheduler. “That was really helpful, so [the owner] could stay up to speed on where we were on the project and which trades were in when.”
Ready to revamp your kitchen? Find a reviewed interior designer or kitchen designer on Houzz today.
The owner was keen to stick with white for the walls and worktops, which are quartz, and was a little apprehensive of adding colour. Even the hob is white. “She was quite nervous about adding colour, but I suggested painting just the base units and we picked this pink.”
White induction hob, Smeg. Replacement cabinet doors, Naked Kitchens.
White induction hob, Smeg. Replacement cabinet doors, Naked Kitchens.
Previously, the kitchen had felt cluttered. The owner, however, knew she didn’t need more storage and had a big clear-out before work began.
There were some architectural features adding to the cramped look, too. Wall cupboards, heavy cornicing around the door, dark wooden doors and a huge mound of hanging coats in the vestibule just beyond the far end of the room were all visually oppressive. “Stripping off the picture rail and cornicing around the door made a huge difference,” Natasha says.
The wood-effect laminate flooring and wooden worktops also went, along with the overmounted sink and a row of wall cabinets that sandwiched a prominent stainless-steel extractor hood.
There were some architectural features adding to the cramped look, too. Wall cupboards, heavy cornicing around the door, dark wooden doors and a huge mound of hanging coats in the vestibule just beyond the far end of the room were all visually oppressive. “Stripping off the picture rail and cornicing around the door made a huge difference,” Natasha says.
The wood-effect laminate flooring and wooden worktops also went, along with the overmounted sink and a row of wall cabinets that sandwiched a prominent stainless-steel extractor hood.
Natasha also changed the door here for two half doors with glazing, which she painted white to help streamline and brighten the area. “They take up less space when they’re open and make it all much lighter,” she says.
Brass plates are a nice detail and help to tie the design into the era of the house. There are more antique brass details around the kitchen, shown lower down. “[The owner] wanted it to feel modern but also to look quite classic,” she says.
Natasha relocated the coats to a newly positioned rack behind the wall with the framed picture. “It looks less fussy now,” she says. In place of the original coat rack, she installed neat shelves with basket storage to keep laundry paraphernalia out of the way.
Brass plates are a nice detail and help to tie the design into the era of the house. There are more antique brass details around the kitchen, shown lower down. “[The owner] wanted it to feel modern but also to look quite classic,” she says.
Natasha relocated the coats to a newly positioned rack behind the wall with the framed picture. “It looks less fussy now,” she says. In place of the original coat rack, she installed neat shelves with basket storage to keep laundry paraphernalia out of the way.
There were also a lot of things hanging from the wall opposite the cabinet run that felt busy and weren’t brilliantly located for cooking. These metro tiles also went.
Hooks for utensils are now, more handily, on one side of the hob, with hanging baskets to the other side for pegs and general “kitchen bits and bobs”.
Rails are attached to the underside of new shelves that Natasha installed to replace the wall cabinets.
More: Kitchen Storage Ideas as an Alternative to Wall Units
Rails are attached to the underside of new shelves that Natasha installed to replace the wall cabinets.
More: Kitchen Storage Ideas as an Alternative to Wall Units
The shelves are stained to match a new, bespoke cooker hood that reduces the visual impact of the extractor, instead creating a feature of the solid European oak from which it and the shelves are made.
“The extractor hood was quite the challenge,” Natasha says. “That particular material was very expensive, but was the best on the market for what we wanted – to go around an extractor hood.”
“The extractor hood was quite the challenge,” Natasha says. “That particular material was very expensive, but was the best on the market for what we wanted – to go around an extractor hood.”
Natasha used a combination of different tiles in the kitchen to break up the white walls.
The fluted section is 3D panelling that’s glued to the wall and painted. “It’s waterproof, so it’s perfect for a kitchen,” Natasha says. “We took the quartz worktop quite high and into the windowsill, so tiles would have looked odd above it there. It was about finding something else that would keep the surface looking interesting.
“We’ve only used it on that wall,” she adds. “Taking it all the way around the room would have been too much, especially with the textured tiles opposite.”
Discotheque floor and splashback tiles, Claybrook. 3D wall panelling, Orac Decor.
The fluted section is 3D panelling that’s glued to the wall and painted. “It’s waterproof, so it’s perfect for a kitchen,” Natasha says. “We took the quartz worktop quite high and into the windowsill, so tiles would have looked odd above it there. It was about finding something else that would keep the surface looking interesting.
“We’ve only used it on that wall,” she adds. “Taking it all the way around the room would have been too much, especially with the textured tiles opposite.”
Discotheque floor and splashback tiles, Claybrook. 3D wall panelling, Orac Decor.
The cabinet handles as well as the undermounted sink are brass, which warms up the space.
Two of the doors in the kitchen conceal a washing machine and an undercounter fridge with a freezer compartment.
Sink, Victorian Plumbing. Handles, Hendel & Hendel.
Two of the doors in the kitchen conceal a washing machine and an undercounter fridge with a freezer compartment.
Sink, Victorian Plumbing. Handles, Hendel & Hendel.
The traditional-style tap is also brass and adds a touch of Victorian style – something Natasha and the owner felt was important, given the era of the house.
Tap, ABI Interiors.
Tap, ABI Interiors.
The boiler remained in its original location, but Natasha concealed it inside a new wall cabinet, painted to blend in with the walls to help it ‘disappear’. “Your eye instead goes to the wood and the extractor hood,” Natasha says.
She fitted floating shelves with integrated LED lighting and hanging rails underneath, which she felt looked neater with the fluted walls.
“We wanted open shelving because it felt more homely to have things on display, and [the owner] didn’t want it to look clinical, which is a risk with an all-white space.”
She fitted floating shelves with integrated LED lighting and hanging rails underneath, which she felt looked neater with the fluted walls.
“We wanted open shelving because it felt more homely to have things on display, and [the owner] didn’t want it to look clinical, which is a risk with an all-white space.”
The new glazed door at this end leads into the dining room.
You can see the wall opposite the kitchen more clearly here. Natasha replaced a half wall of metro tiles with an almost full wall of textured tiles laid in a herringbone formation.
“The owner was adamant she didn’t want colour on the wall, so to keep it interesting in all-white, we went for texture,” she says. “Previously, there had been white tiles, but it looked quite flat. We added the tea towel rail and the shelf. It all helps to balance the two sides of the kitchen.”
The new shelf here is longer than what had been there originally and the owner uses it to store her pots and pans. “She didn’t really need extra storage, that wasn’t part of the brief,” Natasha says.
The split doors at this end, mentioned earlier, lead into a small utility area and then into the bathroom.
Flute wall tiles, Topps Tiles.
You can see the wall opposite the kitchen more clearly here. Natasha replaced a half wall of metro tiles with an almost full wall of textured tiles laid in a herringbone formation.
“The owner was adamant she didn’t want colour on the wall, so to keep it interesting in all-white, we went for texture,” she says. “Previously, there had been white tiles, but it looked quite flat. We added the tea towel rail and the shelf. It all helps to balance the two sides of the kitchen.”
The new shelf here is longer than what had been there originally and the owner uses it to store her pots and pans. “She didn’t really need extra storage, that wasn’t part of the brief,” Natasha says.
The split doors at this end, mentioned earlier, lead into a small utility area and then into the bathroom.
Flute wall tiles, Topps Tiles.
Natasha drew up the project in 3D using the Houzz Pro tool for this to help the owner visualise how the new space would look. “This is what I first showed her, so she could see how the units and brass tap and the concept of the splashback and cooker hood would work,” she says.
In this drawing, you can see there’s a slimline wine fridge, which was already there and which Natasha incorporated into the design (see first photo).
So what did the owner make of her reimagined kitchen? “She’s absolutely thrilled,” Natasha says, “and she told me it had turned out so much better than she’d even imagined.”
Tell us…
What inspiration have you taken from this small kitchen makeover? Let us know in the Comments.
In this drawing, you can see there’s a slimline wine fridge, which was already there and which Natasha incorporated into the design (see first photo).
So what did the owner make of her reimagined kitchen? “She’s absolutely thrilled,” Natasha says, “and she told me it had turned out so much better than she’d even imagined.”
Tell us…
What inspiration have you taken from this small kitchen makeover? Let us know in the Comments.
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Who lives here? A single woman
Location Ingatestone, Essex
Property A three-bed Victorian terrace
Room dimensions Around 4m x 2m
Designer Natasha Burton of NB Interiors UK
Project year 2024
Photos by Ursula Armstrong
With no change to the layout, the owner’s brief was focused on “wanting her kitchen to feel more light and airy, less cluttered and more in keeping with her style and the property,” Natasha says.
“She’d lived there for around 10 years and had inherited the kitchen, so it looked quite tired,” she continues. “She didn’t want to rip out all the existing cabinets, which were still in good condition, but wanted the room to work better and look more like the rest of her house.”
The owner had homed in on one of Natasha’s early projects on Houzz – a kitchen in a very small cottage she’d revamped, retaining the original cabinet carcasses and painting the doors. “She liked that I’d worked in such a small space before – and reused the cabinets,” Natasha says.
The sustainable decision to keep the original cupboards may suggest this revamp was a small project. In fact, from start to finish, the job took six weeks and almost everything else was updated.
“Because it’s such a small space, we could only fit in one trade at a time,” Natasha says. “There was also quite a lot to do – we changed all the flooring, the radiator, the splashback, the worktops and all the cupboard doors, repainted, retiled and designed and built a bespoke extractor hood cover. It was almost a full refurb.”
Walls painted in Loft White, Little Greene. Cabinet doors, Naked Kitchens; painted in Ruse, Paint & Paper Library.