An open plan kitchen by the sea

An open plan kitchen, ideal for entertaining friends, has transformed Anne O’Neill’s period home and makes the most of its surrounding seaside views.

When Anne O’Neill began her renovation she wanted to create a multifunctional kitchen where she could welcome friends and celebrate her home’s idyllic location on the Irish coast. After living there for 18 years, Anne had finally summoned the courage to embrace the charms of her Edwardian property, in particular the surrounding views, which she was keen to exploit.

The kitchen consisted of a dresser, cupboards and a cooker, with no room for a worktop or dishwasher; even the sink was sited in a separate scullery. The room wasn’t somewhere Anne enjoyed spending time and preparing food was a struggle. The new kitchen, she resolved, would be a large, open plan area, which would double as a kitchen and relaxed sitting room.

With a top-to-bottom restoration ahead of her, Anne seized the opportunity to relocate the kitchen and take advantage of the expansive views of the sea by choosing the south facing aspect and using the entire width of the house. With initial drawings from her architect, she approached John Delahunty, a designer, who is the owner and manager of Castle Cabinets in Kilkenny. He recalls his first visit to the property as being on a wet and windy day when the windows and doors were not yet in place. ‘Although it was easy to see Anne’s keen eye for detail even then,’ he says. ‘She worked hard to maintain the period features of the structure and it was obvious what a special and outstanding project this would be.’

Balancing Anne’s ideas with John’s expertise, the design went through several changes but investing the time at this stage was certainly rewarded with the speed and ease of the installation. Anne was attracted to Neptune Furniture’s classical look, the quality of the units and the idea of incorporating a dresser.

The key elements of the design were the aged oak flooring and the worktops of Friesian granite, which has a leathered texture and blends in more than a less matt finish would. The painted Chichester cabinets in Limestone are elegant and unobtrusive, while the honed slate colour used on two of the walls adds a soft and sophisticated element and allows the view to take precedence.

Anne now has plenty of space to prepare meals and entertain friends – the island sits up to eight people, while the later addition of the table and chairs, also from Neptune, provides somewhere comfortable to relax with a drink. The kitchen has transformed the way she lives in the house and she is able to appreciate its picturesque location fully now as the colours and textures of the coast are echoed within the room. John admits he is delighted with the success of the project. ‘When the sunlight flows in through the antique glazing painstakingly retained from the original windows, the vista is remarkable,’ he says.

Keeping a sense of light and space within the room at night is achieved with the installation of fine bone china rise-and-fall lights above the island by BTC By Design and a large crystal ball table lamp from Neptune. As this room is both a kitchen and sitting room, Anne was keen to avoid the appearance of anything too functional. For this reason she chose quiet appliances, by Neff and Perrin & Rowe, and a concealed under-counter fridge and freezer.

Tackling such a large renovation was not without its hardships for Anne, but her new kitchen has made every step worthwhile and she has enhanced all the elements of her home, from its attractive period features to its glorious views through carefully restored windows. The benefits of her sympathetic approach are clear to see in the creation of this new space where she can cook, relax and entertain – it is now her favourite room in the house.

Neptune kitchens cost from £8,000. Call 01793 881144 or visit neptune.co.uk for a brochure and stockists. Find out more about Castle Cabinets at castlecabinets.ie.

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FEATURE KATHARINE CLEMOW PHOTOGRAPHS RORY CORRIGAN
Featured in the August 2011 issue of Period Living