Small kitchen transformation

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Vanessa and Steve Price won Best Period Kitchen in our Readers’ Homes Awards 2008 for the canny way they created a charming country kitchen on a shoestring.

This cottage kitchen was a particular challenge for owners Steve and Vanessa Price: they inherited a rather dated set of white units with grey worktops, a small white electric cooker and a redundant back door. But what they were after was a classic style to suit the period of the cottage. Vanessa explains: ‘We visited many bespoke kitchen companies but felt that we couldn’t afford their £10,000 plus price tag, which is quite a lot for a small kitchen like ours.’

She continues: ‘We fell in love with a design from Wickes that looked good and was a fraction of the price.’ To make the units look more expensive, the Prices opted for solid-wood worktops, cleverly cut to fit by a skilled friend. Meanwhile, the external door in the room was filled in to allow more space for cupboards. Other changes include the installation of an impressive eight-burner Belling range cooker; and the walls have been painted with a mellow cream colour and furnished with shelves to display Vanessa and Steve’s Cornishware. Utilitarian enamelware finishes the look.

A bijou kitchen it may be, but the room has been well designed. Vanessa explains: ‘I was keen to get a table and two chairs in here so I sacrificed the option of having extra cupboards to get them in. Although we have a dining room, we spend most of our time in here.’

FEATURE NAOMI JONES PHOTOGRAPHS BRENT DARBY
Featured in the January 2009 issue of Period Living

Further Contacts:
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