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Kitchen Tour: A Gloomy Kitchen Becomes an Airy, Feel-good Space
Light, space and a connection to the garden are the magic ingredients in this spirit-lifting, sociable kitchen-diner
Most of us have a rough idea of the things that make us feel good in a home – plenty of light, a comfortable temperature, a connection to nature, opportunities to socialise – but how to incorporate it all – beautifully – into our rooms can be more of a challenge.
The family who bought this Victorian terraced house inherited a kitchen that didn’t tick any of those boxes, but they weren’t sure how to create the space they wanted. They’d seen Wellstudio Architecture’s Houzz profile, which details the company’s emphasis on nature and human connection, and contacted founder Tom Manwell to talk about making the room somewhere all four of them could enjoy being together.
“We always bring it back to this question: how can we improve the quality of life for our clients, so they’re more relaxed in the space and can have a better relationship with their family, and improve their mental and physical wellbeing?” Tom says.
To see more great projects where the homeowner found their professional via Houzz, take a look at our Born on Houzz series.
The family who bought this Victorian terraced house inherited a kitchen that didn’t tick any of those boxes, but they weren’t sure how to create the space they wanted. They’d seen Wellstudio Architecture’s Houzz profile, which details the company’s emphasis on nature and human connection, and contacted founder Tom Manwell to talk about making the room somewhere all four of them could enjoy being together.
“We always bring it back to this question: how can we improve the quality of life for our clients, so they’re more relaxed in the space and can have a better relationship with their family, and improve their mental and physical wellbeing?” Tom says.
To see more great projects where the homeowner found their professional via Houzz, take a look at our Born on Houzz series.
The kitchen, which was starting to fall apart, was originally in an outrigger at the back of the house, a feature common in Victorian terraces.
“Outriggers were designed to house the kitchen when people had servants, so not really for people to enjoy being in the space,” Tom says. “They also had pretty low light levels, as that was never much of a consideration.”
Many of us now want to live at the back of our houses and have access to the garden and more space to socialise. “We call it the hub of the home,” Tom says. “People want to be in the same room as each other – cooking, hanging out, eating together.
“They also want to be able to use their gardens more,” he says. “Especially post-pandemic, green spaces have become more of a recognised amenity that improves wellbeing, so the hub needs to relate and connect to the garden.”
“Outriggers were designed to house the kitchen when people had servants, so not really for people to enjoy being in the space,” Tom says. “They also had pretty low light levels, as that was never much of a consideration.”
Many of us now want to live at the back of our houses and have access to the garden and more space to socialise. “We call it the hub of the home,” Tom says. “People want to be in the same room as each other – cooking, hanging out, eating together.
“They also want to be able to use their gardens more,” he says. “Especially post-pandemic, green spaces have become more of a recognised amenity that improves wellbeing, so the hub needs to relate and connect to the garden.”
Tom extended into the side return and roughly 1.5m at the back, and the difference in light and connection is clear to see. As well as the glazed bifold doors, rooflights give improved light levels and views of the sky right through the space. They also aid natural ventilation and cooling in summer, as they can be opened, allowing purge (intermittent but rapid) ventilation in tandem with the bifold doors.
The larger room also allowed Tom to incorporate an island. “It means people can cook or prep food while facing others at the dining table and have a conversation – an opportunity for family togetherness as well as creating a more functional kitchen,” he says.
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The larger room also allowed Tom to incorporate an island. “It means people can cook or prep food while facing others at the dining table and have a conversation – an opportunity for family togetherness as well as creating a more functional kitchen,” he says.
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From a wellbeing point of view, it was important to have a balance of materials and colours, hence the dark blue and rich oak teamed with white wall units and a white quartz worktop. “You want to have some colour and vibrancy and interest, but you also don’t want it to end up feeling too dark,” Tom says. “The space needed to be light and uplifting.”
He designed the layout and materials palette, then a kitchen company made and fitted the units.
He designed the layout and materials palette, then a kitchen company made and fitted the units.
At the far end of the run, full-height cabinets hide the heating manifold, plus a broom cupboard, fridge-freezer and pantry cupboard. The couple wanted a dresser and it fits nicely on the back wall, painted grey “just to add a bit of variety”, Tom says.
There’s a utility room behind the dresser, accessed from the hallway.
A sofa adds a living area to this thoughtfully laid-out room. Beyond the window, there’s a courtyard, which is a small section of the original side return.
“The courtyard is there for a couple of reasons,” Tom says. “The house has a lower-ground-floor level, where there’s a doorway that opens out to a manhole for drainage access, and there’s also a window on the upper-ground floor [the kitchen falls between the two levels]. So we decided we’d create a green courtyard with planters that would bring natural light into this new room [and keep the light in the middle room].”
When you’re sitting on the sofa, you can look down into the courtyard, which is about a metre below, and see lots of plants.
There’s a utility room behind the dresser, accessed from the hallway.
A sofa adds a living area to this thoughtfully laid-out room. Beyond the window, there’s a courtyard, which is a small section of the original side return.
“The courtyard is there for a couple of reasons,” Tom says. “The house has a lower-ground-floor level, where there’s a doorway that opens out to a manhole for drainage access, and there’s also a window on the upper-ground floor [the kitchen falls between the two levels]. So we decided we’d create a green courtyard with planters that would bring natural light into this new room [and keep the light in the middle room].”
When you’re sitting on the sofa, you can look down into the courtyard, which is about a metre below, and see lots of plants.
“Adding the courtyard window also meant we could repeat the design of the angled window at the other end, so you get a pleasing repetition of design feature,” Tom says.
Here, you can see that attention to detail, with the two angled windows either end of the side return extension aligning beautifully.
Here, you can see that attention to detail, with the two angled windows either end of the side return extension aligning beautifully.
As well as the oak on the shelves, cupboards and bench seats, there’s a section of wood with a live edge on the island, forming a breakfast bar and adding to the biophilia. “It’s so nice to be able to touch natural wood and connect with nature through it,” Tom says.
There are layers of lighting for after dark, from spots and over-island pendants to angled wall lamps. “We try to give different options for lighting in a space, so you can create different moods,” he says.
There are layers of lighting for after dark, from spots and over-island pendants to angled wall lamps. “We try to give different options for lighting in a space, so you can create different moods,” he says.
Built-in oak benches maximise the dining area. One forms a window seat, while the other has a lift-up top that reveals roomy storage inside. Tom has painted them the same colour as the kitchen cabinets to keep the palette simple.
The flooring is large, 800mm x 800mm tiles. “[Fewer joints] give a modern look and let the material sing,” Tom says. Underfloor heating ensures they’re cosy in the cooler months.
Limestone-effect floor tiles, Dunstone.
The flooring is large, 800mm x 800mm tiles. “[Fewer joints] give a modern look and let the material sing,” Tom says. Underfloor heating ensures they’re cosy in the cooler months.
Limestone-effect floor tiles, Dunstone.
Tom’s technical expertise and knowledge of the planning system meant that, not only was he aware of restrictions, he could turn them into a positive. Take the angled roof, for instance.
“One of the reasons this roof is sloping at the side is because you’re not allowed to build above a certain height at the boundary,” he says. “But then having had that constraint, [we thought,] why not turn that into a feature? So then the angled windows were designed to echo the pitch of the roof, which brings it all together.”
Tom designed the dark grey Indian limestone patio to echo the tiles internally. “There’s level access, so when you do open the bifolds, if feels like one big room,” he says.
“One of the reasons this roof is sloping at the side is because you’re not allowed to build above a certain height at the boundary,” he says. “But then having had that constraint, [we thought,] why not turn that into a feature? So then the angled windows were designed to echo the pitch of the roof, which brings it all together.”
Tom designed the dark grey Indian limestone patio to echo the tiles internally. “There’s level access, so when you do open the bifolds, if feels like one big room,” he says.
This view of the previous small window and back door shows the limited connection to the garden.
Tom has used the original London stock brick for the extension, but this time in a more contemporary stretcher bond, rather than Flemish bond.
He’s painted the door and window frames in an anthracite grey colour, RAL 7016. “You never really want to go fully black, because it looks too austere,” he explains. “We painted the cement-rendered plinth and around the edge of the patio as well, to tie it all in.
“The dark colour helps to define the shape and give it a contemporary feel,” he continues. “An extension like this works well with this kind of house – it’s modern, but continuing the same kind of brickwork, so you’re doing something contemporary, but that also has a continuity with the original house.”
As far as the family are concerned, it’s a triumph. “They’re really happy with it,” Tom says. “A couple of weeks after they moved in, it was one of the children’s birthdays and they had everyone round and said it was really great.”
Tell us…
What do you think of Tom’s thoughtful, nature-linked design? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
He’s painted the door and window frames in an anthracite grey colour, RAL 7016. “You never really want to go fully black, because it looks too austere,” he explains. “We painted the cement-rendered plinth and around the edge of the patio as well, to tie it all in.
“The dark colour helps to define the shape and give it a contemporary feel,” he continues. “An extension like this works well with this kind of house – it’s modern, but continuing the same kind of brickwork, so you’re doing something contemporary, but that also has a continuity with the original house.”
As far as the family are concerned, it’s a triumph. “They’re really happy with it,” Tom says. “A couple of weeks after they moved in, it was one of the children’s birthdays and they had everyone round and said it was really great.”
Tell us…
What do you think of Tom’s thoughtful, nature-linked design? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
Who lives here? A family of four
Location Telegraph Hill, south-east London
Property A Victorian terraced house
Room dimensions 6.5m x 5m
Architect Tom Manwell of Wellstudio Architecture
Project year 2022
Photos by Chris Snook
As the founder of an architecture firm that works to the WELL Building Standard (which focuses on supporting health and wellness), Tom was in a good position to create a space for the family that would enhance their lives.
Bringing in more light and ventilation, connecting to greenery, using tactile natural timber, creating a sociable layout and making sure a comfortable temperature could be maintained were central to the design.