Kitchen Tour: Pink, Green and Bare Brick Warm an Extended Space
A mix of materials, muted colours, curves and a dash of bespoke joinery make for a welcoming, elegant room
When kitchen designer Adrian Graves of piqu first met the owners of this home, their kitchen and dining room were separate and they were planning to add a small conservatory at the back of the dining area. This would have taken up about half the width of the rear of the house and, in response, Adrian had designed them a kitchen that would work within this L-shaped space.
But when their contractor suggested it could make more sense, financially and practically, to opt for a full-width extension, the owners went for it – and Adrian went back to the drawing board, happy to have more space to play with to create this beautifully airy, open-plan kitchen-diner.
But when their contractor suggested it could make more sense, financially and practically, to opt for a full-width extension, the owners went for it – and Adrian went back to the drawing board, happy to have more space to play with to create this beautifully airy, open-plan kitchen-diner.
The green-painted steels show where the original walls were: the one on the right was the back of the house; the one perpendicular to that divided the original dining room and kitchen.
“Painting steels gives you the chance to inject colour,” Adrian says. They also help to lend the room a semi-industrial feel, along with that bare brick wall behind the sink. “Those are actually brick slips,” he says, “but it looks authentic, and it’s so much simpler than trying to restore brickwork.”
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“Painting steels gives you the chance to inject colour,” Adrian says. They also help to lend the room a semi-industrial feel, along with that bare brick wall behind the sink. “Those are actually brick slips,” he says, “but it looks authentic, and it’s so much simpler than trying to restore brickwork.”
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The pink cabinets create a gentle backdrop to this view of the space. Adrian says the couple saw a pink sample in the showroom and really loved it. “It’s ever so slightly pink; soft and lovely, not in-your-face. It doesn’t take over the space.”
Brass handles, Plank Hardware. Pink units painted in C7.04.83, Sikkens. Walls painted in Bleached Lichen 3, Dulux. Steels painted in RAL 6021.
Brass handles, Plank Hardware. Pink units painted in C7.04.83, Sikkens. Walls painted in Bleached Lichen 3, Dulux. Steels painted in RAL 6021.
The kitchen is a high-quality, off-the-shelf German brand, but Adrian designed these curved, fluted, solid oak ends, which were made by hand in the Piqu workshop. “It’s these small, bespoke elements that make the kitchen unique and add character,” he says.
The rest of the island is clad in oak veneer, the pieces carefully arranged so the grain lines up down the drawer fronts. The flooring is LVT (luxury vinyl tiles), laid in a herringbone format.
Kitchen, Ballerina.
The rest of the island is clad in oak veneer, the pieces carefully arranged so the grain lines up down the drawer fronts. The flooring is LVT (luxury vinyl tiles), laid in a herringbone format.
Kitchen, Ballerina.
The knobs are brass, which, along with the wood tones, adds yet more warmth to the space. There’s a subtle reeded detail on the hardware, visually linking it to the ends of the island.
Knobs, Plank Hardware.
Knobs, Plank Hardware.
There’s plenty of room now for a dining table close to the doors into the garden. Out of shot, there’s also a small sofa.
Curved bar stools, Debenhams. Pendant light, Perch & Parrow.
Curved bar stools, Debenhams. Pendant light, Perch & Parrow.
The location of the wall units and the decision to have open shelving above the worktop were partly dictated by the position of the steel that goes into the bare brick wall. Adrian didn’t want to cut into cabinets just to fit them around the beam and, as the space is generous, there’s still plenty of room for storage elsewhere, leaving the rest of the wall clear for the display shelf.
Ask your designer if they use Houzz Pro software: tools, such as 3D Floor Plans and Mood Boards can help you to easily visualise designs for your space.
Ask your designer if they use Houzz Pro software: tools, such as 3D Floor Plans and Mood Boards can help you to easily visualise designs for your space.
The boiling water tap and the sink are both stainless steel. “I think you’re always going to end up with mixed metals in a design,” Adrian says. “They won’t all come from the same place and even details on the oven, or appliances, will be different, so I’m always happy to go for mixed metals.”
The sink is a generous size. “People seem to be moving away from one-and-a-half bowl sinks and going for one large enough to soak a grill pan in. This one’s around 550mm wide internally. At least 50% of our customers go for that sink.”
The cupboard on the far right houses a dishwasher. “It can then be used by anyone, not just the person working in the kitchen,” Adrian explains. “For example, you can come direct from the dining table and not disturb the person at the sink or the hob.”
Flex tap, Quooker. Quartz worktops in Calacatta Green, Compac.
The sink is a generous size. “People seem to be moving away from one-and-a-half bowl sinks and going for one large enough to soak a grill pan in. This one’s around 550mm wide internally. At least 50% of our customers go for that sink.”
The cupboard on the far right houses a dishwasher. “It can then be used by anyone, not just the person working in the kitchen,” Adrian explains. “For example, you can come direct from the dining table and not disturb the person at the sink or the hob.”
Flex tap, Quooker. Quartz worktops in Calacatta Green, Compac.
Adrian fitted a venting induction hob. “It has a big motor that sits beneath it,” he says, explaining that the top drawer front is false so as to hide this.
The detail also allows for one of Piqu’s trademark touches. “On the right [of the false drawer front], you have a little void and we like to use this for a single socket – it’s so handy if, say, you’re making soup and have a hand blender you need to plug in.”
He adds that he tries to avoid putting lots of visible sockets on an island. “If you do have lots of easily accessible sockets, the island becomes a dumping ground,” he says. “So we try only to have sockets for specific purposes – for example, there’s another hidden within one of the island cupboards, meaning someone can sit at the island and charge their laptop, but the cupboard door would need to be a little bit open, so things won’t tend to get left there.”
Single socket, Evoline.
The detail also allows for one of Piqu’s trademark touches. “On the right [of the false drawer front], you have a little void and we like to use this for a single socket – it’s so handy if, say, you’re making soup and have a hand blender you need to plug in.”
He adds that he tries to avoid putting lots of visible sockets on an island. “If you do have lots of easily accessible sockets, the island becomes a dumping ground,” he says. “So we try only to have sockets for specific purposes – for example, there’s another hidden within one of the island cupboards, meaning someone can sit at the island and charge their laptop, but the cupboard door would need to be a little bit open, so things won’t tend to get left there.”
Single socket, Evoline.
This useful cabinet is at the left-hand end of the kitchen run next to the fridge. “It means you can leave the doors open and they don’t get in the way,” Adrian says.
It has glass shelving, internal lighting and a piece of worktop just above the drawers. “These sorts of cupboards are perfect for hiding a toaster, coffee-maker or air fryer – those worktop appliances you use often, but don’t necessarily want to see all the time, especially in an open-plan space like this, where you also want to be able to relax,” Adrian says.
And what did the owners make of their new kitchen? “They were bowled over by the end result,” Adrian says, “and they really appreciated the help we provided throughout the project. We really hold our clients’ hands; once the installation and the building work are underway, we’re on hand.
“The owners have told us they’ve had a lot of great comments from family and friends,” he adds, “and they said that, ‘If those are anything to go by, you’ll be busy next year!’”
Tell us…
What’s your favourite detail in this kitchen? Let us know in the Comments.
“The owners have told us they’ve had a lot of great comments from family and friends,” he adds, “and they said that, ‘If those are anything to go by, you’ll be busy next year!’”
Tell us…
What’s your favourite detail in this kitchen? Let us know in the Comments.
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Who lives here? A couple and their nine-year-old twins
Location Hayes, Bromley
Property A detached 1930s house with four bedrooms and two bathrooms
Room dimensions Approximately 6.5m x 6.3m
Designer Adrian Graves of piqu
Project year 2024
Photos by Chris Snook
The original broad brief from the owners was that the kitchen should become a sociable space. “Initially, we were trying to create an interesting design that gave them more space, but, due to the L-shape, we’d come up with an angled island to link the kitchen to the dining room,” Adrian says. “When they decided to extend instead, by three metres, we were left with a lovely space in which we could create a simple, linear kitchen along the wall with a long, parallel island.”