Kitchen Tour: Bold Glazing Brings Light and Joy to a Period Home
Elegant cabinets and mellow tones are paired with a striking slice of glass in this clever kitchen extension
Architect Corrie Jones describes this Victorian house in south London as “a special project”. The owners’ willingness to include modern design alongside period features, plus the home’s lovely aspect overlooking a quiet garden, means it remains memorable. In addition, the owner will often ping Corrie a photo of the space in full sunlight, or with snow on the glass roof. “She might be sitting enjoying a cup of tea in the kitchen window seat and just reach out to tell me how much she loves it,” he says. “That’s really nice.”
Corrie drew up plans for extending and improving the entire ground floor, including creating a space for a built-in bar and utility cupboard. The jewel in the project’s crown, though, is the light-flooded kitchen-diner at the rear, which marries striking, contemporary glazing with a colour palette and cabinetry that have a more timeless, elegant feel. Read on to see how it all came together.
Corrie drew up plans for extending and improving the entire ground floor, including creating a space for a built-in bar and utility cupboard. The jewel in the project’s crown, though, is the light-flooded kitchen-diner at the rear, which marries striking, contemporary glazing with a colour palette and cabinetry that have a more timeless, elegant feel. Read on to see how it all came together.
This plan shows the new layout for the ground floor. The house lies within the Dulwich Estate, 1,500 acres of land in south London with around 5,000 homes on it. The Estate had to approve all of Corrie’s plans.
“There’s an extra layer of regulations and rules, and things they need to see before granting approval for any changes,” he says. “The glass was a unique modern insertion, but whatever we’d designed, it would still have had to go through that process of approval.”
He was not fazed, though. “I’m really thorough and clear about my journey and how we got to this final solution, so it wasn’t a huge challenge to put through planning.”
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“There’s an extra layer of regulations and rules, and things they need to see before granting approval for any changes,” he says. “The glass was a unique modern insertion, but whatever we’d designed, it would still have had to go through that process of approval.”
He was not fazed, though. “I’m really thorough and clear about my journey and how we got to this final solution, so it wasn’t a huge challenge to put through planning.”
Easily find reviewed architects in your area on Houzz.
One of the standout features of the new kitchen is the clean, frameless, wrapover slice of glazing. The space was already blessed with a reasonable amount of natural light, as it faces south-east, and this boosts it.
“[The room] looks onto the garden, which has nobody overlooking it, and there are mature trees, too. That’s quite rare in London. We wanted to make the most of that,” Corrie says.
In addition, the idea of juxtaposing the home’s Victorian features with a modern glass extension was exciting. “I suggested the glazing early on,” Corrie says. “Initially, it was not the owners’ flavour, but then they came around to the idea. I’m glad they went for it.”
Architect and owners are delighted with the results. “What I think worked with that slice of glass and that whole wall was we went as modern as we could push it there, and got it as clean as we could, with no big, chunky frames,” Corrie says. “We cut that side of the building out, almost like negative space, and that glass is just there to keep the elements out, not to make a big statement.”
Glazing, Cantifix.
“[The room] looks onto the garden, which has nobody overlooking it, and there are mature trees, too. That’s quite rare in London. We wanted to make the most of that,” Corrie says.
In addition, the idea of juxtaposing the home’s Victorian features with a modern glass extension was exciting. “I suggested the glazing early on,” Corrie says. “Initially, it was not the owners’ flavour, but then they came around to the idea. I’m glad they went for it.”
Architect and owners are delighted with the results. “What I think worked with that slice of glass and that whole wall was we went as modern as we could push it there, and got it as clean as we could, with no big, chunky frames,” Corrie says. “We cut that side of the building out, almost like negative space, and that glass is just there to keep the elements out, not to make a big statement.”
Glazing, Cantifix.
The glazing protrudes at the back, creating space for a seating area inside. “That’s the way to do it,” Corrie says. “Punch it all the way through so it doesn’t just look like a big window. It means you can get out into the lovely garden.”
The seating area from the inside. Since these photos were taken, the owner has had upholstery cushions made. “Now the girls can sit there with a hot chocolate and relax,” Corrie says.
As well as designing the shell of the new space, Corrie worked on its look and feel. Existing furniture, including the dining table and chairs, was factored in. “It was quite traditional,” he says, “so we chose a soft, pale palette to complement it.”
The owner vetoed the greys and dark blues of many contemporary schemes in favour of something lighter. “She wanted a genteel and traditional English feel, not anything super-strong or bold.”
The owners also have some beautiful artworks. “So a palette that would allow any art set against it to look good was important,” he adds.
The flooring is oak parquet. “In the main part of the ground floor, it’s parquet with a dark stain,” Corrie says. “Here, it’s laid in the same herringbone pattern, but in a softer tone, so it doesn’t look too heavy in this pale scheme.”
Walls painted in China Clay Mid, Little Greene. Bespoke kitchen cabinets, Higham Furniture.
More: 6 Beautiful Plaster-coloured Kitchen Ideas
As well as designing the shell of the new space, Corrie worked on its look and feel. Existing furniture, including the dining table and chairs, was factored in. “It was quite traditional,” he says, “so we chose a soft, pale palette to complement it.”
The owner vetoed the greys and dark blues of many contemporary schemes in favour of something lighter. “She wanted a genteel and traditional English feel, not anything super-strong or bold.”
The owners also have some beautiful artworks. “So a palette that would allow any art set against it to look good was important,” he adds.
The flooring is oak parquet. “In the main part of the ground floor, it’s parquet with a dark stain,” Corrie says. “Here, it’s laid in the same herringbone pattern, but in a softer tone, so it doesn’t look too heavy in this pale scheme.”
Walls painted in China Clay Mid, Little Greene. Bespoke kitchen cabinets, Higham Furniture.
More: 6 Beautiful Plaster-coloured Kitchen Ideas
Originally, there was a dining room at the rear of the house with French doors onto the garden.
To update the opening, Corrie had new doors made and fitted with high-performance glass. “We had to make sure it had the right thermal performance, both in terms of keeping the space warm in winter and not roasting in summer,” he says. “The aim is that buildings perform well, so we’re not reliant on mechanical or electrical heating.”
The doors were designed to respect the property’s age and heritage. “They have elegant profiles and brass handles to tie in with the brass hardware on the cabinets,” Corrie says.
The doors were designed to respect the property’s age and heritage. “They have elegant profiles and brass handles to tie in with the brass hardware on the cabinets,” Corrie says.
If a kitchen has suitable proportions, Corrie encourages clients to include an island. “They are somewhere to sit with a coffee or a beer with friends. They encourage chatting,” he says. “They are, in many ways, the new hub of a house.”
This island includes the hob (not seen), and is illuminated by elegant pendant lights with glass shades to echo the glazing.
This island includes the hob (not seen), and is illuminated by elegant pendant lights with glass shades to echo the glazing.
“I often discourage clients from having the hob on the island, because installing an extractor above interrupts the view,” Corrie says. Here, though, the owner was clear she wanted the sink under the skylight, so the hob had to go on the island. “As a solution, we fitted a floor-level extractor,” he says.
The worktop and splashbacks are all made from 30mm marble-look quartz with a polished finish.
Calacatta Gold Supreme quartz worktop and splashback, iStone.
The worktop and splashbacks are all made from 30mm marble-look quartz with a polished finish.
Calacatta Gold Supreme quartz worktop and splashback, iStone.
This shot shows the original kitchen, which was in the middle of the ground floor. The window on the left side of the image, which looked out onto the side return, has now been transformed into an opening from this room into the newly extended kitchen-diner.
More: How to Start a Kitchen Renovation
More: How to Start a Kitchen Renovation
Here’s the old window reinvented. Corrie drew up options for a full doorway through to the kitchen here, but the owner opted instead for a simple opening. “She was keen to have this room as a separate space, with the piano in it where the children practice,” he says. “That internal opening still nicely connects the spaces, but it’s less of a thoroughfare.”
In lieu of a big utility space, the owners fitted a washing machine and dryer in a cabinet at the far end of the built-in bar area, by the kitchen wall.
In lieu of a big utility space, the owners fitted a washing machine and dryer in a cabinet at the far end of the built-in bar area, by the kitchen wall.
This is the other side of the opening. Not having a doorway has allowed for more storage. Cabinets just seen to the right of the opening store a fridge-freezer, with a double oven and larder alongside (out of shot).
The finished space is light, calm and elegant. It’s easy to see why the owners are so delighted with it.
Tell us…
What do you like best about Corrie’s redesign? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
Tell us…
What do you like best about Corrie’s redesign? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
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Who lives here? A couple and their two children
Location Herne Hill, south-east London
Property A Victorian semi-detached house with four bedrooms
Kitchen dimensions 6.2m x 4.6m
Architect Corrie Jones of Corrie Jones Architecture
Builder Northcastle London
Project year 2023
Photos by Chris Snook
The initial brief from the owners was to open up the ground floor, bring in natural light and connect the inside with the lovely garden.
“Downstairs was broken up into little spaces. There was a reception room at the front, a little kitchen in the middle, and a dining room at the rear. It was disjointed,” Corrie says. “They wanted to pull it all together and expand the space out to the side, too. They didn’t want it all ultra-modern, though – they wanted to keep some of the old charm.”
He was happy to take on the task. “Usually, given a reasonable budget, most things are possible,” he says “What they wanted wasn’t too radical, so when I first saw the house, I thought, we can do this, let’s draw it and figure it out.”