I love to cook.
The EcoBungalow project meant that I could completely reorganise the kitchen to create something that works perfectly for me. At planning stage, we established the principle of one big open-plan living space. This creates a sociable space where I can cook and chat to friends and family at the same time. It also means the cook can enjoy the fabulous westerly views, rather than being shut away in a separate kitchen looking east as in the original bungalow.
We didn’t design the kitchen in a great deal of detail at planning stage, just enough to be happy that the overall open-plan approach would work. The application plans show an ‘L’ shaped kitchen.
Once we had planning consent, we developed the detailed design of the project as a whole, including the kitchen. As we explored options, we concluded that the kitchen needed to be less ‘open’ to the living area so that there wouldn’t be views of any post-dinner mess from my favourite armchair. We also realised that the experience of entering the space from the front door needed to feel less like coming into the working area of the house, and have more of a sense of entering the living room. I put together my own crude SketchUp model to explore what was possible. Together with the architect, we developed a much better solution of a galley kitchen separated from the living space by a low bookshelf. At this point I’d already decided to use DIY Kitchens units (inexpensive but well-made and well designed), so we had an extensive range of known units with which to work.
In parallel with the kitchen design, we developed the approach to lighting and ventilation. Lighting is simple: recessed spotlights in the kitchen providing good task lighting, along with recessed LED strips in the living area providing a soft wash of light down the walls. Pendant lights provide a focal point over the dining table. The recessed lighting works well with the relatively low ceilings, keeping them free of clutter.
The strategy of creating an air tight building ventilated by Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery (MVHR) means that a standard cooker hood venting directly to the outside isn't a good idea. You shouldn't put a large hole in the building envelope after all that effort of making it airtight! The technical team have assured me that the MVHR alone will be able to cope with removing smells and steam from the kitchen. A specific kitchen vent with a grease filter is located in line with the hob.
Although the kitchen layout is different from the planning drawings, it doesn’t affect the planning permission. The change in layout has no impact on the external appearance of the building – and that is what matters with planning.
Once the project started on site, I took the lead in developing the detailed approach to the kitchen. Several months ahead of installing the kitchen I checked out suppliers:
DIY Kitchens. I’d already been inspired by a friend’s plain white DIY Kitchen units. A matt finish and integrated handles gave me the clean look I was after. However, I did a bit more research to check they were right for me – trawling through online reviews and a visit to their showroom confirmed DIY Kitchens as a good choice. It helped that they are very budget friendly: the units cost a total of just under £4000.
Worktops. My strategy was to spend as little as possible on the units and focus my budget on some really good quality worktops. I ideally wanted something sustainable, but found this difficult to achieve. Recycled glass looked amazing but was well over my budget, whereas wood just didn’t have the robustness I wanted. In the end, I settled on quartz, visiting two local suppliers. One gave me the hard sell, trying to get me to commit to an order straight away. The other – House of Stone in Lancaster – were reassuringly knowledgeable and keen to help. I was impressed that Lee spotted the sample in my hand from a distance, and immediately identified it “Ah, Silestone Gris Expo Suede. Good choice.’
Ikea. I surprised myself by really enjoying a couple of hours in Ikea – that was a first! I didn’t buy anything, but it gave me lots of storage ideas. The visit was particularly helpful in reinforcing my decision to go with deep drawers to avoid the annoying rummaging around at the back of low cupboards.
At this point I realised that more work was needed to develop the detail of the end of the run of units incorporating the hob and oven. This is right on the sightline on entering the living space. So getting this right was a priority, and down to me to refine the architect’s initial sketch of how it might work.
It’s a complicated coming together of a bookshelf forming an upstand, end panel and worktop to the hob run. I found SketchUp really useful in exploring options for this three-dimensional puzzle. Whilst it looks simple, this took a LOT of thought. There are three planes of quartz worktop: Silestone Gris Expo for the worktop and upstand, and plain white for the top of the bookshelf. Together with a DIY Kitchens island end panel cut to size to fit across the units and bookshelf, we’ve made a really neat finish to the run of kitchen units.
It's less than a week until I move back into my house. I’m delighted with my kitchen - there's no doubt that all the hours of careful thought, exploration of options, talking to suppliers and detailed design have paid off.
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