‘On Board’ With A Major Renovation

“When mapping out the requirements for our new kitchen, high up on the list was German quality manufacturing and to have a designer that could add those special elements to the overall design project. We definitely didn’t want someone who just placed units and appliances into a plan within an allocated space. We wanted a designer who could understand how the kitchen would work with all the other elements in the open plan space,” says Kevin.

Step in Roger Astin, who from his first visit to the breeze block shell site, looked at the space first before even thinking about the kitchen. Roger advised on the actual space and showed a deep knowledge and appreciation of the process that would follow. Kevin was extending his house by half again – all in one room! This new room would combine a large open plan kitchen, dining and living area. Such a large space had to work and Roger realised the kitchen would have to work around several structural elements such as a large pillar in the middle of the room and various steel structures across it.

Roger cleverly designed some additional bulk heads to mirror the structural ones so symmetry was created around the ceiling area of the kitchen and worked the design around the large pillar in the middle. He kept the kitchen to one side of the room which allowed for a separate dining and entertainment area to be created.

When it came to colours, Kevin wanted to replicate a display in the Manchester showroom that he’d fallen in love with. This incorporated a new colour: graphite which gave great definition against the white in the room. The brief throughout was to keep it uncomplicated so Corian Calcatta white worktops were chosen with taupe base units.

With an extensive catering background, Kevin loves to cook and took the selection of appliances very seriously. He opted for Neff throughout as he considered it to be the very best when you consider price against all the features and benefits the brand offers. A slide and hide oven together with a warming drawer and microwave oven were chosen, with a Neff dishwasher complementing the suite of Neff appliances.

To mirror the colours in the kitchen, Roger also designed a TV area with the same coloured units on the opposite side of the room: “One of our favourite elements within the design is the low sideboard area built into two low windows and underneath our television,” explains Kevin.

“Roger’s suggestion to link the seating area in this way using one of the kitchen colours was a masterstroke. The grey tinted mirror glass surrounding a section of wall units is also a really nice feature especially in the evening when we have that section lit.”

Kevin is delighted with Roger and the whole Kitchen Design Centre team: “Our objectives at the start of our search have all been met. We wanted a designer to work closely with us and to use their design flair to create a kitchen with the wow factor. This was a design led experience as opposed to just kitchen planning, where the extra design expertise and quality of the products delivered have given us our dream kitchen. It really is better than we could have imagined. I can honestly say it was a great experience from start to finish. The fitting team were also brilliant. Their expertise and attention to detail is something quite rare in today’s world.”