Kitchen Tour: Pink and Wood Tones Create a Soft Finish
Sustainably sourced English elm, birch ply and an eco pink veneer make for a good-looking – and green – kitchen design
The owners of this elegant room in a Victorian house were keen that it didn’t look too much like a kitchen and their brief was led by their collection of vintage Ercol furniture. “It has very soft tones and, other than the ovens, it doesn’t have a very kitchen-y vibe – it’s almost like furniture,” Malcolm Weir of West & Reid says.
This kitchen also has great eco credentials. “We always use birch ply for carcasses, because we like to use as little plastic as possible,” Malcolm says, “and we use a native veneer – English elm – as well as a very green furniture linoleum.”
This kitchen also has great eco credentials. “We always use birch ply for carcasses, because we like to use as little plastic as possible,” Malcolm says, “and we use a native veneer – English elm – as well as a very green furniture linoleum.”
The worktop runs into the window at the bottom and the shelf and soffit do so at the top, so it all needed very careful coordination to ensure the design of the window worked with the design of the kitchen. “It’s an unusual feature in London, as the houses are mainly terraces,” Malcolm says.
Originally, the window had been designed to sit above the wall units. “We felt this didn’t work, as the units would then cast a shadow [on the worktop],” he says. “It also made things complicated practically, so we suggested it come down below the cabinets.”
The result is a feature splashback that floods light across the worktop. Malcolm says his clients are growing climbers up the fence outside, so the view will be green.
Undermounted ceramic sink, Shaws of Darwen.
More: 16 Ways to Work a Dreamy Kitchen Splashback Window
Originally, the window had been designed to sit above the wall units. “We felt this didn’t work, as the units would then cast a shadow [on the worktop],” he says. “It also made things complicated practically, so we suggested it come down below the cabinets.”
The result is a feature splashback that floods light across the worktop. Malcolm says his clients are growing climbers up the fence outside, so the view will be green.
Undermounted ceramic sink, Shaws of Darwen.
More: 16 Ways to Work a Dreamy Kitchen Splashback Window
The owners’ Ercol dining table, chairs and stools very much set the mood for the design.
“A lot of Ercol furniture is made from elm,” Malcolm says, explaining, in part, his choice to use an English elm veneer for some of the cabinetry. “It’s quite an unusual veneer – and expensive – but it has a lovely grain and tone. We aimed for it to tone nicely rather than match the furniture.”
Bar stools, Ercol.
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“A lot of Ercol furniture is made from elm,” Malcolm says, explaining, in part, his choice to use an English elm veneer for some of the cabinetry. “It’s quite an unusual veneer – and expensive – but it has a lovely grain and tone. We aimed for it to tone nicely rather than match the furniture.”
Bar stools, Ercol.
Find reviewed kitchen designers in your area on Houzz.
The owners were also keen to avoid having any handles on the kitchen – even on the fridge. Malcolm didn’t want to put in a recessed handle, as he felt it would break up the symmetry, so he researched and found an electromechanical fridge opener, allowing the door to open with a light push.
“It’s quite a niche product. I’d never heard of such a thing before, but it was a good find,” he says. “We’ve since used them on quite a lot of jobs.”
“It’s quite a niche product. I’d never heard of such a thing before, but it was a good find,” he says. “We’ve since used them on quite a lot of jobs.”
The tall cabinets have a gap above them. What was Malcolm’s reason for not taking them all the way? “It was a tall ceiling and we didn’t want to split the doors,” he says. “There are also good reasons not to go up to the ceiling: partly it’s that it can make a room feel bigger, as it gains a visual depth. Ceilings are also generally not straight, so if you go up to the ceiling, you may have to put in a scribe, which can draw attention to the fact the ceiling isn’t straight.”
“You also need airflow for a fridge or freezer,” he continues, “usually a minimum of 25mm to 40mm above for ventilation.”
More: How Can I Renovate My Kitchen Sustainably?
More: How Can I Renovate My Kitchen Sustainably?
The pink section of the kitchen is also birch ply, this time with a linoleum finish. “It’s made from organic materials and we use it instead of plastic laminates,” Malcolm explains. “The company that makes it also comes to collect off-cuts and recycles them.”
The handle inserts are clad in elm veneer to match the upper units. Slimline (20mm) white quartz worktops add to the elegant look.
Bianco Assoluto Unistone quartz worktops, Brachot. Pink linoleum veneer, Forbo.
The handle inserts are clad in elm veneer to match the upper units. Slimline (20mm) white quartz worktops add to the elegant look.
Bianco Assoluto Unistone quartz worktops, Brachot. Pink linoleum veneer, Forbo.
The tall cabinets contain a full-height fridge and a larder, which has an internal cupboard above and internal drawers below. There’s a cupboard above the oven and a drawer below, and a dishwasher and more drawers on the cabinet run.
There’s also more drawer storage in the kitchen side of the island, as well as an integrated pull-out bin and a skinny cupboard for oils and condiments.
The modern oriel window contains a bench seat clad in the same elm veneer as the cabinets.
Double oven, Siemens. Plug sockets, Dowsing & Reynolds. Light fittings, Dyke & Dean.
There’s also more drawer storage in the kitchen side of the island, as well as an integrated pull-out bin and a skinny cupboard for oils and condiments.
The modern oriel window contains a bench seat clad in the same elm veneer as the cabinets.
Double oven, Siemens. Plug sockets, Dowsing & Reynolds. Light fittings, Dyke & Dean.
The layout of the kitchen is eased by the fact that there’s also a utility room, which contains the family’s freezer and laundry appliances.
The utility room features more pink cabinetry hiding lots of function in a modest space, including the underfloor heating manifold, a boiler, the washing machine and dryer, a laundry cupboard and broom cupboard, and controls for the alarm. “It’s a compact room,” Malcolm says.
The utility room features more pink cabinetry hiding lots of function in a modest space, including the underfloor heating manifold, a boiler, the washing machine and dryer, a laundry cupboard and broom cupboard, and controls for the alarm. “It’s a compact room,” Malcolm says.
“There were very few challenges designing this kitchen,” Malcolm says. “Apart from ensuring we got enough kitchen into the space without it encroaching on the rest of the living/dining area – and the utility room helped with that, so everything fitted in very nicely.
“All in all,” he concludes, “it was a very nice kitchen to design.”
Tell us…
What inspiration would you take from this calming, functional and pretty kitchen? Let us know in the Comments.
“All in all,” he concludes, “it was a very nice kitchen to design.”
Tell us…
What inspiration would you take from this calming, functional and pretty kitchen? Let us know in the Comments.
Who lives here? A family with a young child
Location Bromley, south-east London
Property A Victorian semi-detached house with four bedrooms
Room dimensions The entire room is around 5.5m x 7.5m, but the project was just the kitchen area and a separate utility room
Designer Malcolm Weir of West & Reid
Photos by Elle Benton
Malcolm explains that he was involved in the kitchen design while the room was still being created by the architect on the project. “We often liaise closely with architects to make sure a kitchen installation works,” he says. In this case, he was particularly involved in the design of the splashback window.