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Room Tour: A Kitchen Extension With an Enviably Comfy Window Seat
How an empty shell became a calm, cosy yet practical space with a strong connection to the garden
The owner of this Victorian family home came to interior designer Jo Llogarajah of Studio JKL for help with spatial planning as well as aesthetic ideas and furniture sourcing. An architect had created the rear extension shell and Jo was tasked with designing the best layout to suit the family’s needs.
The owner wanted the freshly extended kitchen to include dining and lounging areas and to have a utility and cloakroom in the best locations. It’s all beautiful, but wait until you see the window seat…
The owner wanted the freshly extended kitchen to include dining and lounging areas and to have a utility and cloakroom in the best locations. It’s all beautiful, but wait until you see the window seat…
In the kitchen area, Jo ensured there was plenty of storage. As well as the base units, there are some wall cabinets, plus full-height units on the right (partially out of shot here), a slimline, full-height, pull-out larder next to the fridge-freezer, and pan drawers on the other side of the island.
“This made it an easy decision to add the open oak shelving,” she says. The shelves allow space for personalisation, as well as giving the design room to breathe.
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“This made it an easy decision to add the open oak shelving,” she says. The shelves allow space for personalisation, as well as giving the design room to breathe.
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Jo’s colour scheme for the kitchen took in the owner’s desire for something that would look timeless and neutral, as well as bringing a bit of the outside in. There are earthy tones in the green, grey and wood, which sit against a crisp, pale background.
The cabinets were bought white and spray-painted this soft sage shade; the worktops are engineered quartz in a Carrara marble-look finish, and the flooring is oak parquet.
Worktops, Caesarstone.
The cabinets were bought white and spray-painted this soft sage shade; the worktops are engineered quartz in a Carrara marble-look finish, and the flooring is oak parquet.
Worktops, Caesarstone.
Another key storage space is under the L-shaped window seat that Jo designed. Deep drawers pull out all the way around.
The window seat is filled with cushions for maximum comfort. “For a window seat to be comfortable, go for a 500mm to 550mm depth,” Jo says. “This one is a little deeper because of the window being a bit set in.”
Where a plastered structural steel protrudes on the right, Jo came up with a nice workaround. Rather than having the seat pad there made to step around the wall, which could have been awkward and would have made for a shallower seat at that point, she designed an integrated table. It divides the two long cushions and is a practical addition as somewhere to place a drink or a bowl of snacks.
Where a plastered structural steel protrudes on the right, Jo came up with a nice workaround. Rather than having the seat pad there made to step around the wall, which could have been awkward and would have made for a shallower seat at that point, she designed an integrated table. It divides the two long cushions and is a practical addition as somewhere to place a drink or a bowl of snacks.
The dark wood of the integrated table was chosen to tie in with this little metal side table opposite it.
The real focal point, though, is the corner fireplace, which makes this an even cosier place to sit. “We looked at a few options, but I liked how, with this one, you see it from two angles and it’s open to the whole kitchen space,” Jo says.
She added lots of different options for displaying plants – hanging, wall mounted, and on different surfaces. They help to further tie the scheme to the garden beyond.
Metal side table, H&M. Fireplace, Firefly.
The real focal point, though, is the corner fireplace, which makes this an even cosier place to sit. “We looked at a few options, but I liked how, with this one, you see it from two angles and it’s open to the whole kitchen space,” Jo says.
She added lots of different options for displaying plants – hanging, wall mounted, and on different surfaces. They help to further tie the scheme to the garden beyond.
Metal side table, H&M. Fireplace, Firefly.
A generous dining space runs parallel to the kitchen. Against the wall there’s a bench seat containing drawers. The tall cabinet at the far end is one of a pair that bookend the bench; this one houses a boiler, while the other (out of shot) contains a tea and coffee station.
The cushions and artwork, in shades of blue, green and burnt orange, bring dynamic colour to the space, adding personality.
Sustainability is always a key consideration in Jo’s projects. “Several existing elements were carefully integrated into the new design,” she says. Along with all the kitchen appliances and the sink, her design also incorporated the owner’s existing dining table and chairs to minimise waste.
“The design is tailored to seamlessly incorporate [all] these pieces, meaning the reused items feel intentional, as though they were always part of the overall scheme,” she says.
The cushions and artwork, in shades of blue, green and burnt orange, bring dynamic colour to the space, adding personality.
Sustainability is always a key consideration in Jo’s projects. “Several existing elements were carefully integrated into the new design,” she says. Along with all the kitchen appliances and the sink, her design also incorporated the owner’s existing dining table and chairs to minimise waste.
“The design is tailored to seamlessly incorporate [all] these pieces, meaning the reused items feel intentional, as though they were always part of the overall scheme,” she says.
Looking towards the back of the kitchen, you can see how it connects to the rest of the ground floor.
Jo laid patterned tiles in the hallway in a subtle nod to the house’s Victorian heritage. “The owner wasn’t sure about the patterned floor when I first showed him, but said, ‘Leave it with me, it might grow on me.’ And it did,” Jo says. “It’s a nice thing when a client is open to new things; things they might have been nervous to do themselves or just wouldn’t have thought of. Then you do it, and they love it.”
The large mirror reflects light from the extension into the hallway, helping to brighten the darker room. A pocket door can separate the spaces when necessary.
Beyond the right-hand doorway, Jo created a new home office. The slim space runs adjacent to a box containing the downstairs loo and utility room (see the floor plan, below).
Floor tiles, Mandarin Stone.
Jo laid patterned tiles in the hallway in a subtle nod to the house’s Victorian heritage. “The owner wasn’t sure about the patterned floor when I first showed him, but said, ‘Leave it with me, it might grow on me.’ And it did,” Jo says. “It’s a nice thing when a client is open to new things; things they might have been nervous to do themselves or just wouldn’t have thought of. Then you do it, and they love it.”
The large mirror reflects light from the extension into the hallway, helping to brighten the darker room. A pocket door can separate the spaces when necessary.
Beyond the right-hand doorway, Jo created a new home office. The slim space runs adjacent to a box containing the downstairs loo and utility room (see the floor plan, below).
Floor tiles, Mandarin Stone.
A plan of the ground floor shows how everything fits together.
In the hallway, a bench seat containing cubbyholes for shoes is tucked under the stairs.
Here’s the space as it looked when Jo first saw it. She added tongue-and-groove panelling to hide some of the services and included a discreet access panel.
One of the project’s challenges was devising a way to separate this new downstairs loo from a utility cupboard that sits to its left, as they’d originally been designed as one room. Jo closed the spaces and altered access to the utlity area, as you can see in the plan above.
Wall panelling painted in Off-Black; walls painted in Pavilion Gray, both Farrow & Ball.
Wall panelling painted in Off-Black; walls painted in Pavilion Gray, both Farrow & Ball.
Jo created a simple, elegant palette in the hallway and added a smart runner on the stairs.
In this photo, you get a better look at the floor tiles.
Hallway painted in Pavilion Gray, Farrow & Ball.
In this photo, you get a better look at the floor tiles.
Hallway painted in Pavilion Gray, Farrow & Ball.
A before shot shows how dramatic the transformation has been and how much lighter and brighter this part of the house now feels.
And how did the owner feel about the newly reconfigured home when all the work was done? “He was really happy I’d been able to fit in everything he’d wanted and that I’d thought about all the smaller details – colours of sockets and switches, types of downlight, for example – that people don’t always think about,” Jo says. “He said it had saved him a lot of stress when faced with all those decisions.”
Tell us…
What do you like about Jo’s redesign? Let us know in the Comments.
Tell us…
What do you like about Jo’s redesign? Let us know in the Comments.
Who lives here? A father and his two sons, plus two dogs
Location East Dulwich, south-east London
Property A four-bedroom Victorian terrace
Room dimensions 5m x 6.7m
Designer Jo Llogarajah of Studio JKL
Project year 2022
Photos by Anna Batchelor
The ground floor had already been stripped out by the builders when Jo joined the project. “The owner hadn’t originally thought to use an interior designer,” she says, “but when he got the architect’s layout back, it wasn’t quite what he’d been thinking of, so he came to me.
“It was about what was going to go where and how best to optimise the space,” she continues. “The owner told me what he wanted to include and we worked on a number of options until we got to the perfect layout.”
Key considerations included where to locate the dining and lounging areas, as well as how best to design in a utility room and downstairs loo. It also needed to have great flow between all the new spaces.