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Kitchen Tour: A Sensitive Extension to a Beautiful Listed House
Timeless design keeps this kitchen sympathetic to the home’s heritage, while efficient appliances help it to work smart
This Brighton home is a rare thing in the city – a centrally located detached house, rich in history and with a beautiful garden. Built in around 1840, it has Grade II listed status and sits within a conservation area. Consequently, any work on it would be subject to strict planning regulations and, in addition, its owners were committed to making any improvements both sympathetic to the building and environmentally responsible.
To get a feel for this special home, they lived in it for a couple of years before calling in Clare Topham of Clare Topham Interior Design to gently refresh it. She worked on various rooms, updating the heating, decor and lighting, but the kitchen posed perhaps the biggest challenge. “It was a dinky little room,” Clare says. “[The owners] knew they wanted to extend, but didn’t want it much bigger. They only wanted to build what they needed for the two of them. They were never going to whack a modernist extension on the back.”
The owners are really happy with their finished kitchen, which respects their home’s heritage but is kitted out with the latest, energy-efficient appliances. Read on to see the newly extended space, and find out how Clare hit their brief beautifully.
To get a feel for this special home, they lived in it for a couple of years before calling in Clare Topham of Clare Topham Interior Design to gently refresh it. She worked on various rooms, updating the heating, decor and lighting, but the kitchen posed perhaps the biggest challenge. “It was a dinky little room,” Clare says. “[The owners] knew they wanted to extend, but didn’t want it much bigger. They only wanted to build what they needed for the two of them. They were never going to whack a modernist extension on the back.”
The owners are really happy with their finished kitchen, which respects their home’s heritage but is kitted out with the latest, energy-efficient appliances. Read on to see the newly extended space, and find out how Clare hit their brief beautifully.
Clare created an ‘initial ideas’ Houzz Pro Mood Board to share her vision for the room with the owners.
She uses these alongside Houzz Pro Selections to show specific products to her clients. “It’s so straightforward, for me and the owners,” she says. “[They] have links to all the products on them, so the owners can just click through. There’s no messing about with spreadsheets full of links like before.”
Easily find and hire interior designers on Houzz.
She uses these alongside Houzz Pro Selections to show specific products to her clients. “It’s so straightforward, for me and the owners,” she says. “[They] have links to all the products on them, so the owners can just click through. There’s no messing about with spreadsheets full of links like before.”
Easily find and hire interior designers on Houzz.
The original kitchen was small and cramped. “The layout was odd,” Clare says. “There was a table sitting in front of the fireplace, and a huge range cooker taking up half the space.”
This before shot shows the door out to the garden and, on the left, a door that leads to a formal dining room. “There are three doors into the space and none of them could be moved or changed because of the house’s listed status,” Clare says. “They have lovely original detailing on them.”
This before shot shows the door out to the garden and, on the left, a door that leads to a formal dining room. “There are three doors into the space and none of them could be moved or changed because of the house’s listed status,” Clare says. “They have lovely original detailing on them.”
This before shots show the external space into which the kitchen was extended.
This is the original entrance into the kitchen, which has remained the same.
You can see the original door here, still in place.
“For the kitchen design itself, the owners wanted something [between traditional and modern], but also preferred to have top-of-the-range, easy-to-use appliances,” Clare says. “They knew they didn’t want it to look too traditional, so no Shaker doors, but not too contemporary either. It was up to me to find a middle ground.”
Clare chose quality, in-frame cabinets, but teamed them with modern-look, flat-panel doors. She then worked in appliances that met the owners’ environmental stipulations, including an induction hob and low-energy ovens.
“All the appliances are energy rated A or B,” Clare says. “It was about getting modern, eco-friendly appliances in with what looked like more of a classic kitchen.”
Kitchen, Wood Works Brighton. Tap, Perin & Rowe.
“For the kitchen design itself, the owners wanted something [between traditional and modern], but also preferred to have top-of-the-range, easy-to-use appliances,” Clare says. “They knew they didn’t want it to look too traditional, so no Shaker doors, but not too contemporary either. It was up to me to find a middle ground.”
Clare chose quality, in-frame cabinets, but teamed them with modern-look, flat-panel doors. She then worked in appliances that met the owners’ environmental stipulations, including an induction hob and low-energy ovens.
“All the appliances are energy rated A or B,” Clare says. “It was about getting modern, eco-friendly appliances in with what looked like more of a classic kitchen.”
Kitchen, Wood Works Brighton. Tap, Perin & Rowe.
This tall cupboard has a different feel to the rest of the cabinetry and shows how Clare brought classic touches to the kitchen to keep it sympathetic to the building’s age and heritage. It has more traditional, frame panelled doors, trimmed with mouldings. The doors also have fluted glass to echo the fluted wood on the island. The green colour ties everything together.
The more modern, flat-panel cabinet doors used in the hob and sink runs are clearly visible here. “I was adamant about using the green,” Clare says. “There’s a beautiful garden just outside, with peonies in the summer and fruit trees. It has almost a country cottage feel – very unusual for central Brighton – so I wanted it to feel like an extension of the kitchen.”
The owners signed off on the green, but halfway through the process, changed their minds and requested blue. “I mocked up the design in blue and in green, so they could see the difference,” Clare says – and the couple chose green.
Cabinets painted in Calke Green, Farrow & Ball.
The owners signed off on the green, but halfway through the process, changed their minds and requested blue. “I mocked up the design in blue and in green, so they could see the difference,” Clare says – and the couple chose green.
Cabinets painted in Calke Green, Farrow & Ball.
The owners wanted to be able to wash saucepans in a sink and have a dishwasher, so Clare set about working out where to position both. Early plans show it next to the sink (see next photo), but she eventually put it in the island.
“If it sat in certain locations, you wouldn’t be able to move around the kitchen, as it’s quite a small space,” she says. Now there’s a very deep sink over by the window for washing up big, grubby pans, and another on the island for lighter jobs, such as rinsing plates or filling the kettle.
“If it sat in certain locations, you wouldn’t be able to move around the kitchen, as it’s quite a small space,” she says. Now there’s a very deep sink over by the window for washing up big, grubby pans, and another on the island for lighter jobs, such as rinsing plates or filling the kettle.
Looking at the plans for the extension, you can also see there’s a utility space/cloakroom adjoining the kitchen, accessed from the hallway.
More: How to Lay Out a Small Kitchen
More: How to Lay Out a Small Kitchen
Clare designed an oval-shaped island, which provides useful storage, food prep space and a place to sit. It’s fronted with fluted wood, breaking up the green beautifully.
The curved shape was deliberate. “There are three doors coming into this room, which is quite inconvenient and potentially [results in] quite a lot of traffic,” she says. “I felt rounded ends on the island would soften the space as you’re moving through it, and be better than a hard, rectangular shape.”
Handles, Plank Hardware.
The curved shape was deliberate. “There are three doors coming into this room, which is quite inconvenient and potentially [results in] quite a lot of traffic,” she says. “I felt rounded ends on the island would soften the space as you’re moving through it, and be better than a hard, rectangular shape.”
Handles, Plank Hardware.
This before shot shows the fireplace and table.
Now the fireplace, just seen behind the island, contains shelves.
A larder cupboard with internal lighting stands in the corner of the room, with easy access to the island. It contains breakfast foods, a toaster, tea and coffee.
Open shelves here and at the end of the island provide space for personal pieces, which soften the look. The same composite quartz is used on the worktops and splashbacks.
Composite quartz worktop and splashback, Margrasil.
Composite quartz worktop and splashback, Margrasil.
A fridge-freezer is housed in the cupboard just to the right of the ovens.
The flooring looks original, but it’s actually new parquet from a nearby flooring supplier. Using local firms is something Clare’s keen on. “I use a lot of local suppliers,” she says. “I’ve built up relationships with them through 15 years of running this business. I know them and trust they will do a good job.”
Parquet flooring, The Wood Gallery. Tap, Perrin & Rowe. Self-cleaning double oven, Neff.
Tell us…
What do you like most about this kitchen? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
The flooring looks original, but it’s actually new parquet from a nearby flooring supplier. Using local firms is something Clare’s keen on. “I use a lot of local suppliers,” she says. “I’ve built up relationships with them through 15 years of running this business. I know them and trust they will do a good job.”
Parquet flooring, The Wood Gallery. Tap, Perrin & Rowe. Self-cleaning double oven, Neff.
Tell us…
What do you like most about this kitchen? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
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Who lives here? A semi-retired couple
Location Brighton, East Sussex
Property A detached Grade II-listed, early Victorian property built in around 1840, with four bedrooms and two bathrooms
Kitchen dimensions 4.4m x 3.7m
Designer Clare Topham of Clare Topham Interior Design
Builder White Rock Construction
Project year 2023
Photos by Bee Holmes Photography
Clare worked alongside the project architect to create plans for a modest side extension with a rooflight. She designed this part of the room to be the main food preparation and cooking area. In what was the original kitchen space, she added an island, where the owners can sit with a coffee or friends can gather while they cook.
“The whole project took a while, because we had to wait for conservation approval,” Clare says. “We would get the design signed off by the owners, and then there would be a pause for three months. It was a bit stop-start and took six months in total.”
When it came to the build, access was an issue. “We couldn’t get machinery into the back of the property,” she says. “There was only a gate and a narrow walkway leading to the garden, so all the foundations had to be dug out by hand and taken out through the house.”