Room Tour: Recycled Rustic Style for a Utility and Pantry Space
When creating a practical room for her home, this designer went super-sustainable, using upcycled and leftover finds
This room made the perfect play space when designer Natalie McHugh of NK Living‘s two sons were young, but as they got older, they were more likely to need their sports kit washing and plenty of nutritious food. So Natalie reassessed what she could do with it without it becoming a time-consuming project.
What she’s created is a rustic and practical room that can perform a host of functions, from storage to food prep, made using salvaged and leftover materials from previous projects. “I don’t like to waste anything,” she says. The result of her creative upcycling is an inviting, practical space that works brilliantly for her growing family.
What she’s created is a rustic and practical room that can perform a host of functions, from storage to food prep, made using salvaged and leftover materials from previous projects. “I don’t like to waste anything,” she says. The result of her creative upcycling is an inviting, practical space that works brilliantly for her growing family.
Although there’s a laundry room on the first floor with a washing machine and tumble dryer, Natalie included an additional washing machine in here. “It’s a back-up,” she says. “My two boys used to be into sport, so it was for rugby kits and sports stuff.”
Its position by the back door is strategic. “They could come in, strip off and drop their dirty kit there, and there’s a shower room next door, too.”
More: Common Utility Room Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Its position by the back door is strategic. “They could come in, strip off and drop their dirty kit there, and there’s a shower room next door, too.”
More: Common Utility Room Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Another function for this utility-pantry space is as somewhere to rinse off produce from the vegetable garden. “The room opens onto the patio at the rear of the house, so it’s closely associated with the garden, where we have a vegetable patch, hence why there are some carrots in the sink,” Natalie says. “There’s been a dog washed in there once or twice, too.”
Natalie wanted the space to look rustic, so it would feel distinct from the rest of the house and could handle any kind of task. “It’s not precious in here or on show,” she says. “We don’t have to be careful with it.”
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Natalie also wanted to use up leftover materials. “I often have offcuts from other projects I work on through my design business,” she says. “I don’t like to throw anything away; I like to reuse and upcycle wherever I can, and sometimes that means using those bits and bobs in my own home.”
The mats were made from offcuts of sisal carpet. “I had them whipped and bound by the carpet supplier I work with,” she says.
The mats were made from offcuts of sisal carpet. “I had them whipped and bound by the carpet supplier I work with,” she says.
“All the wooden cladding and storage was made from scaffold boards from a local timber merchant that have been lime-waxed,” Natalie says. “The cast-iron brackets and marble for the worktop were bought new, but everything else was upcycled.”
Shelf brackets, Dowsing & Reynolds.
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Shelf brackets, Dowsing & Reynolds.
More: What Happens When You Hire a Carpenter, Joiner or Cabinet-maker?
A length of marble worktop provides space to prep food and assemble pizzas, ready to go in the pizza oven outside. “It’s a lovely piece of marble that was templated by the worktop suppliers I use regularly and then fitted,” she says.
Marble worktop, Town & Country Marble.
Marble worktop, Town & Country Marble.
Natalie designed a little bar area by the back door. “It’s for the summertime when we have barbecues,” she says. “There’s a fridge underneath.”
This old enamel sink was salvaged from another project Natalie was working on. “It’s beautiful, and has its original bib taps as well,” she says.
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The transformation of this room took just one week, and Natalie’s business partner and head of construction for NK Living, Kelly Willmott, did all the work.
Natalie is really pleased with the space and how sustainably it was created. “I’m delighted to have used up all the leftover bits from projects and other salvaged finds,” she says.
Tell us…
What do you like best about Natalie’s rustic utility-pantry? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
Tell us…
What do you like best about Natalie’s rustic utility-pantry? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
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Who lives here? Designer Natalie McHuge with her partner and two sons
Location Woldingham, Surrey
Property A detached Edwardian home with seven bedrooms
Room dimensions 4.1m x 3.2m
Designer Natalie McHugh of NK Living
Photos by Chris Snook
Natalie redesigned the former playroom around six years ago to suit the family’s changed needs. “It’s now a multifunctional room with a washing machine, food prep space and storage,” she says. “It holds appliances and kitchen overspill. It’s essentially a walk-in larder-pantry where we’ve stored everything, even a bit of office stuff.”
Lamp shade, Maisons du Monde.