teal kitchen open plan space
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Discover this modern chic extended kitchen and dining space

Extending to replace her dark galley kitchen and small dining room with a light and bright space gave Katerina the kitchen she’s always wanted.

open plan extended kitchen

Image: Jeremy Phillips 

Katerina Simmons and her husband Richard wanted to knock down a wall between their old kitchen and dining room to open up the space and extend out by two metres, with patio doors leading out onto the garden. The result is an open-plan family space that has bundles of style and substance.

Why didn’t you like your old kitchen?

We inherited a galley kitchen and a separate dining room with the house that were both very small. It was cramped, glooming and lacking in storage space, plus with young children, I didn’t like that I couldn’t see the dining table when I was cooking or baking.

How did you want to change the space?

Our plan was to knock down the wall between the kitchen and dining room and extend out into the garden a little to create a large, family-friendly space. We also wanted to install patio doors, which would not only give us an outdoor access but a view of the scenery beyond.

Image: Jeremy Phillips

What were your must-have features?

Key to the new design was a large island that we could all gather round and a larder cupboard to hide away Richard’s coffee machine and my baking equipment. Plus, I really wanted a self-cleaning oven.

How did you decide on the overall look of the space?

We had a cream kitchen before, so wanted a dramatic colour change. I started looking at dark green units, and although we originally planned to have white walls, in the end we went for a pale pink, which pairs beautifully and actually makes the scheme feel much warmer.

Were there any disasters along the way?

We had hoped to install large patio doors and several skylights, but the planning office had other ideas! We discovered there are tight restrictions on how many doors and rooflights you can install in relation to the size of your home, so in the end we scrapped the idea of installing three separate skylights, instead opting for one large one above the dining table.

dining table extended kitchen

Image: Jeremy Phillips 

What was the best bargain you found?

To save money, we bought appliances that were slight seconds. Our dishwasher, for example, had a dent in the front panel but as it is integrated you can’t even see it. We made a saving of £150 and it still came with a normal warranty.

Did anything cost more than expected?

The building work required an additional RSJ that we hadn’t budgeted for. Our builders, RCB Properties were great at helping us navigate these issues, but the extra cost of £1,500 had to come out of our savings.

So you went slightly over budget?

We originally allowed for £100,000, to also include a home office as part of a side-return extension, but we went over by £15,000 as we added lots of extra things as the build went along, like more lighting. We also upgraded some elements, like additional drawers and pull-out storage, making the patio doors floor-to-ceiling height and levelling the floor between the kitchen and the utility room.

teal kitchen with gold handles and quartz worktop

Image: Jeremy Phillips

What have you learned?

Even when you think you’ve got everything figured out in detail, there will still be little things you have to decide on along the way. This can be anything from where to place your plug sockets, to which way you want your doors to open. It’s also worth planning the lighting at the start to enable all the wiring to be installed during the build.

Project costs

  • Units – £14,500
  • Worktops – £2,700
  • Appliances – £4,500
  • Sink & tap – £1,600
  • Flooring – £3,000
  • Lighting – £500
  • Furniture & accessories – £800

Total spend – £27,600 

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