A light-filled kitchen/dining room

Click on gallery images to view larger picture.

Shane Allen has created a light-filled kitchen/dining room that has transformed her home, and became a runner-up of the Best Kitchen in our Readers’ Awards 2011.

Four years ago, Shane Allen moved from London to Somerset when her three daughters had left for university. She wanted a quieter pace of life and a house that could provide a home to her girls whenever they needed it, as well as an opportunity to expand her yoga business. When she found this four-bedroom 18th century cottage, she saw it had the potential to become a beautiful home. The work she has carried out on the ground floor, creating a bright kitchen/dining room open to the sitting room, has transformed the once dark and dated space; it’s a worthy runner-up of the Best Kitchen in our Readers’ Awards 2011.

‘The kitchen was a dark, narrow, isolated room last refurbished in the 1970s,’ Shane says. ‘The limited light through the windows from the plastic-sheeted lean-to conservatory was not helped by the dark green cabinets; whatever time of day, I always needed the lights on.’

To create the bright, attractive and functional room it is today, Shane and her team of builders had major work to tackle. ‘We double glazed the conservatory and removed the kitchen window and wall below to link the two areas directly.’ She also decided to knock through a larger opening on the opposite wall (while blocking up an impractically sited door) to bring in more light from the front of the house and permanently connect the sitting room to the open-plan kitchen/dining room. With a complete rewire, new plumbing, a fresh coat of lime plaster and the removal of a false wall that was obscuring the original hearth, Shane had a much better space in which to create her ideal kitchen.

‘I had the head of the chimney breast raised to accommodate a range cooker and hood,’ she says. ‘Then I could begin to think about the flooring.’ Unfortunately, the original flagstones underneath the undulating cork and lino were uneven and badly cracked. ‘After much deliberation, I decided the best solution was to opt for an insulated and ventilated raised oak floor,’ she says, ‘which could be carried through over the ceramic tiling in the conservatory as I wanted to unify the two areas. I’ve managed to reuse the old flags in the front garden, though.’

As a keen cook who’s passionate about simple, honest food, Shane found inspiration for the design of the storage and work areas from the rustic style of Tuscan homes: rendered blocks supporting worktops, with open shelving beneath; and no wall cupboards imposing into the room, but instead more shelves displaying jars of herbs and spices, pasta and pulses. ‘I asked my builder to construct studwork and plasterboard partitions,’ says Shane, ‘the corners of which were rounded off; the whole structure was then skimmed with a rough plaster finish to be in keeping with the lime walls.’ Luxurious, well-fitted oak tops – to tone with the floor – and small areas of aubergine coloured tiles continue the country feel.

‘A couple of the under-counter areas have been kept open,’ adds Shane, ‘while for the majority I’ve chosen deep drawer units. To keep costs down, I bought inexpensive ones from Ikea; but to stop them from looking too modern, the builder placed oak battens between the units. When the drawers are looking rather worn, and perhaps when I have a bit more money, I might upgrade them: the kitchen has been designed so that I can replace these frontages without disturbing the top or supports.’

It’s clear that with thoughtful planning, good design has been top of Shane’s list from the start. ‘I hope I’ve created a light and airy kitchen that will withstand many years of use, and yet offer flexibility to meet my changing tastes and demands in the future,’ she says. ‘But most importantly, I hope I’ve created a kitchen that feels in harmony with this lovely old cottage.’

Read about an award-winning budget kitchen makeover...
Read about an open plan kitchen renovation...
Find out more about the Readers’ Awards 2011

FEATURE NAOMI JONES PHOTOGRAPHS ROBERT SANDERSON
Featured in the December 2011 issue of Period Living