In Edwardian times, the kitchen was for cooking, not living in. All the grandeur, space and decorative detail went into the other rooms of the house; the kitchen was all about tick-box functionality and little more. These days, it’s very different. Kitchens are the hub of day-to-day life, where families come together to dine; where the kids gather to do their homework; where the parents go foraging for merlot after the little ones are in bed. It’s the heart of the family.
The kitchen of a five-bedroom link-detached house on Chestnut Road, West Norwood, was a heart outside of a body when Russian For Fish first saw it. The homeowners, a couple with a young child, were delighted with their spacious, welcoming and perfectly proportioned family home, but less than ecstatic about the kitchen, which was small, rather dark and, in true Edwardian style, seemed cut-off from the soul of the house.
The couple asked Russian For Fish to expand and remodel the space, to bring it into the flow of the house and to enhance its connection to the adjacent garden. They also needed additional storage space and a dedicated utility area – without undertaking significant (and expensive) structural alterations.