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Kitchen Tour: A Clever Layout Creates a Dedicated Area for Baking
A zoned design lets the owner of this kitchen run her cake business while leaving space for family life and socialising
Many of us picked up a penchant for baking during the pandemic (which for some lasted, while others not so much), but the owner of this home went a step further and set up a successful cake baking and decorating business, Helen’s Bakes. The only problem was, her kitchen didn’t really lend itself to baking on a large scale at the same time as being a place for daily cooking and socialising. So she and her husband tasked interior designer Julia Yong of York House Designs with solving their dilemma and making the existing footprint work for them.
Julia’s key solution was to move a cloakroom to give Helen her own work area and pantry. “They wanted a space where the husband could be prepping dinner or getting ready to entertain while Helen was still baking,” she says, “so creating the baking zone slightly separate from the kitchen was really important.”
Julia’s key solution was to move a cloakroom to give Helen her own work area and pantry. “They wanted a space where the husband could be prepping dinner or getting ready to entertain while Helen was still baking,” she says, “so creating the baking zone slightly separate from the kitchen was really important.”
Julia worked within the footprint of the original extension, but made a number of alterations that unlocked a far better layout.
The principal change was knocking out a cloakroom, seen here on the right beyond the oven, and moving it under the stairs.
“It was quite big and it really did encroach on the room,” Julia says. “We also removed some brick pillars [one of which can be seen here on the left] either side that impinged on the space and put in a steel.”
Find and hire an interior designer in your area on Houzz.
The principal change was knocking out a cloakroom, seen here on the right beyond the oven, and moving it under the stairs.
“It was quite big and it really did encroach on the room,” Julia says. “We also removed some brick pillars [one of which can be seen here on the left] either side that impinged on the space and put in a steel.”
Find and hire an interior designer in your area on Houzz.
Removing the cloakroom and pillars has hugely opened up the far end of the room and allowed Julia to create a baking unit on the left and walk-in pantry across the corner on the right.
She then added Crittall doors to the living room opening to enclose the kitchen without losing light, not least because the couple have two kittens who aren’t very helpful when it comes to baking…
“We also added in a tall window [to the left of] the doors,” Julia says. “It had to be frosted for planning regulations, but it still brings quite a lot of light into that otherwise dark middle area.”
She then added Crittall doors to the living room opening to enclose the kitchen without losing light, not least because the couple have two kittens who aren’t very helpful when it comes to baking…
“We also added in a tall window [to the left of] the doors,” Julia says. “It had to be frosted for planning regulations, but it still brings quite a lot of light into that otherwise dark middle area.”
The custom-made, walk-in pantry offers plenty of storage for Helen’s ingredients, equipment and paperwork. The cupboard in the middle behind the stool actually holds the underfloor heating manifold, but also has space to store large mixing bowls.
The baking unit opposite has plenty of drawers for cake decorations, plus two side cupboards for baking trays. A small wine fridge is also slotted in here.
Yellow shelves above the baking unit give this area a distinct feel while linking with the yellow bar stools.
The unit itself is rounded. “It’s so that, when you’re walking to the seating area around the island, you’re not bumping into the corners,” Julia says.
The worktops throughout are microcement, which is robust for daily use. The flooring is large-format porcelain tiles with underfloor heating, which is great for days when Helen is at the baking unit for hours.
Microcement, Riflesso.
The unit itself is rounded. “It’s so that, when you’re walking to the seating area around the island, you’re not bumping into the corners,” Julia says.
The worktops throughout are microcement, which is robust for daily use. The flooring is large-format porcelain tiles with underfloor heating, which is great for days when Helen is at the baking unit for hours.
Microcement, Riflesso.
The old kitchen didn’t offer enough storage, but it wasn’t in bad condition, so Julia sold it rather than sending it to landfill.
“There was so little storage in the old kitchen when you actually broke it down,” she says. “We increased it by more than fifty percent.”
“There was so little storage in the old kitchen when you actually broke it down,” she says. “We increased it by more than fifty percent.”
The second transformative alteration was fitting a splashback window in the main kitchen area. This has numerous advantages. “It makes the space feel wider,” Julia says, “and it was a way of getting a much bigger window past planning – it’s low down, so you’re not looking into neighbouring windows.”
Crucially, the long, thin design allowed Julia to fit in much more storage. “It means you can have storage above it,” she says. “If you had a window of typical proportions, you wouldn’t be able to fit cupboards above.
“Waiting for planning to approve the window was quite tense, as we could see it was going to make a massive difference,” she adds. “It was a nail-biting wait.”
The fact that Julia had anticipated how to get approval for a large window saved time and money. She was also able to keep the couple up to date with what was happening day by day thanks to Houzz’s online scheduling tool.
“This project had a fair amount of building work in it – from a project management perspective, there were a lot of moving parts – so the Houzz Pro Schedule tool was really helpful,” Julia says. “The ability for us to share [the timeline] with the clients, so they could see things such as when the windows were going to be installed and the kitchen was going to be delivered, all on a shared dashboard, was really helpful for them.”
Crucially, the long, thin design allowed Julia to fit in much more storage. “It means you can have storage above it,” she says. “If you had a window of typical proportions, you wouldn’t be able to fit cupboards above.
“Waiting for planning to approve the window was quite tense, as we could see it was going to make a massive difference,” she adds. “It was a nail-biting wait.”
The fact that Julia had anticipated how to get approval for a large window saved time and money. She was also able to keep the couple up to date with what was happening day by day thanks to Houzz’s online scheduling tool.
“This project had a fair amount of building work in it – from a project management perspective, there were a lot of moving parts – so the Houzz Pro Schedule tool was really helpful,” Julia says. “The ability for us to share [the timeline] with the clients, so they could see things such as when the windows were going to be installed and the kitchen was going to be delivered, all on a shared dashboard, was really helpful for them.”
The additional storage has freed up space elsewhere. “Previously, one of the bedrooms had been almost entirely given over to overflow kitchen storage, whereas now they’ve got that back as an exercise room with a spin bike and yoga mat in it,” Julia says.
The previous doors into the garden had thicker frames, so Julia changed them for these, which provide a clearer view and partner the Crittall ones at the other end of the room.
The previous doors into the garden had thicker frames, so Julia changed them for these, which provide a clearer view and partner the Crittall ones at the other end of the room.
The couple wanted a breakfast bar that was big enough to dine at, because they don’t have a dining table elsewhere. The bar stools add a touch of yellow – an accent colour that runs throughout the house.
Julia chose a hob with a neat downdraft extractor. The pop-up sockets in the worktop are covered in microcement so they blend in.
Bar stools, Rockett St George. Boiling-water tap, Quooker.
Pendant lights, Pooky.
Julia chose a hob with a neat downdraft extractor. The pop-up sockets in the worktop are covered in microcement so they blend in.
Bar stools, Rockett St George. Boiling-water tap, Quooker.
Pendant lights, Pooky.
For the couple, the new design has been a game-changer. As Helen said on Houzz,
“[Julia] came up with some extraordinary design features that would elevate the reconfiguring of the kitchen into a wow project. We wouldn’t have had such a spectacular result without her inspiration and dedication.”
Tell us…
What do you like best about Julia’s reworking of this long, thin kitchen? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
“[Julia] came up with some extraordinary design features that would elevate the reconfiguring of the kitchen into a wow project. We wouldn’t have had such a spectacular result without her inspiration and dedication.”
Tell us…
What do you like best about Julia’s reworking of this long, thin kitchen? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
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Who lives here? The owner of the bakery company, Helen’s Bakes, and her husband
Location Twickenham, west London
Property An Edwardian end-of-terrace house
Room dimensions 3.4m x 7m
Project year 2023
Designer Julia Yong of York House Designs
Builder Dream Building
Photos by John Frye
The couple had a rough idea of the look they wanted – slightly Scandi – but hadn’t pinpointed a coherent style. “We helped them to narrow it down and come up with a look that was going to be in keeping with the property, but a bit more modern,” Julia says.