Kitchen of the Week: A Victorian Kitchen Gets a New Open-plan Layout

Kitchen of the Week: A Victorian Kitchen Gets a New Open-plan Layout- When this couple and their two young children moved into their west London Victorian house, they wanted to make the most of their new home, so they called in Maya Wilson of Maya Wilson Interiors. She soon suggested that taking down the dividing wall between the ground-floor kitchen and dining room would make a big difference to their cooking and eating spaces and improve the flow and the feel of their home. ‘After lots of exploratory plans for different uses of the rooms, we felt the knock-through was the best option, giving more light throughout and creating a flexible and comfortable living space,’ says Wilson.

To this open-plan kitchen and dining space, Wilson then added Shaker-style cabinets in both white and a deep blue, a spacious island and a bespoke dresser in the dining area. Now, both the eating and cooking areas function brilliantly as individual spaces, but they also share features, such as brass lighting and handsome cabinetry, to create a harmonious feel throughout.

Maya Wilson Interiors

Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here A couple and their two young children
Location Hammersmith, west London
Size 9.7m x 3.5m; part of a Victorian double-fronted house
Designer Maya Wilson of Maya Wilson Interiors

Photos by Marc Wilson Photography

The owners knew straight away that they wanted Shaker-style doors for their cabinets and, having had an island in the kitchen in their previous home, were keen to include one here, too. ‘They were also very focused on ensuring they had a lot of surfaces,’ says Wilson. ‘Their last kitchen, although relatively big, didn’t have much worktop space and they were eager to create plenty here.’

Maya Wilson Interiors

Once the wall between the two rooms was taken down, the owners wanted to make sure the spaces still felt connected, while retaining a subtle divide. A peninsula separates the two areas, and provides more of the worktop surface the owners craved. ‘It’s quite wide, with seating on the dining room side,’ says Wilson. ‘You can sit and have breakfast or use a laptop there – it’s big enough to do multiple things at once. Guests can also sit there while you finish making dinner, so it’s sociable, too.’

A mix of pendant lights add personality to the space. Five different styles hang over the table, with one of the designs over the island, too. ‘They are all from Jim Lawrence, which has a fantastic range in brass,’ says Wilson.

Pendant lights, Jim Lawrence.

Maya Wilson Interiors

The sink is neatly tucked into a corner, so it’s largely out of sight from the dining space. ‘The owners were certain they didn’t want a sink in the island,’ says Wilson, ‘so we fitted it here. They don’t use it much because they have a dishwasher and wanted to prioritise surface area.’

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Maya Wilson Interiors

Wilson encouraged the owners to use a rich blue shade on some of the cabinets. ‘They were a bit unsure at first and worried it would look too dark, as the kitchen that was here before was quite gloomy,’ she says. But now, with the additional light coming from windows at both ends, the room is much brighter, so the blue works beautifully.

For balance, Wilson painted the wall of units on the left in white. ‘We used the blue shade for the brighter side of the room and chose white for the darker wall.’ The blue also goes well with the sections of exposed brick wall. ‘The bricks are a lovely sandy colour, which complements the blue. That’s partly why we chose it,’ says Wilson.

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Maya Wilson Interiors

With its soft, curved edges, the island fits beautifully into the room. ‘It has just the right proportions for the space,’ says Wilson. ‘We couldn’t have made it any larger or it would have started to feel a little bit cramped in here.’ Rounding off the corners also helped the island fit into the available space. ‘This avoids any pinch points and is great for flow,’ she says. ‘You can scoot around it comfortably.’

Ovens, Neff. Leiston brass pendant lights, Jim Lawrence.

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Maya Wilson Interiors

Simple white metro tiles line the kitchen wall, making it extra practical. ‘They are very classic, and very functional, which fits the vibe of this space,’ says Wilson. ‘The brick shape helps to accentuate the long lines of this wall, too.’ Instead of a plate rack above the sink, Wilson had a rectangular box shelf built in. ‘It works really well,’ she says. ‘It’s easy to use and convenient.’

Lovell glass pendant light, Jim Lawrence.

Maya Wilson Interiors

‘Victorian homes often have big rooms, but they can be quite narrow,’ says Wilson. And this was the case in the dining space, where a large fireplace used to dominate the room. ‘There wasn’t really enough space to walk behind the table and chairs and you always felt you were stepping onto the hearth,’ she explains.

Wilson decided to remove the fireplace and install a bespoke dresser instead. ‘The dresser holds things specifically for the dining area, such as glasses and place mats, and also acts as an additional surface for serving,’ she says. It’s now become a well-proportioned dining space with useful storage that doesn’t intrude into the room.

Maya Wilson Interiors

The bay window contains further storage, which serves as a window seat, too. ‘It holds stuff that spills over from the hallway, such as shoes and other bits and bobs,’ says Wilson. It’s been spray-painted in a mid-sheen off-white shade.

Maya Wilson Interiors

There’s a small conservatory area just off the kitchen, and a little run of wall lights are fitted on the kitchen wall to illuminate the space. ‘They are discreet and fit in really nicely,’ says Wilson.

Hector wall light, Original BTC.

Maya Wilson Interiors

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