CASE STUDY: PRETTY SPECIAL

The kitchen you see before your eyes wasn’t always a kitchen. When Audrey Reilly, creative director of global sportswear brand Lululemon, purchased her B-listed Victorian home in Motherwell, this striking space was actually the dining room.

- Natasha Radmehr

BRIEF To design a kitchen from scratch in the former dining room of a Victorian home in Motherwell, in keeping with the look and feel of the property.

DIMENSIONS The room measures 4.5m x 5.5m, with a ceiling height of 3.2m.

BIGGEST CHALLENGE The height of the chimney breast had to be shortened when it became apparent it would detract from the intricacy of the ceiling if it was too high.

KITCHEN DESIGN AND SUPPLY Harvey Jones, harveyjones.com

“The original kitchen was at the front of the house, but I reconfigured the layout,” she explains. “I wanted to bring the house back to its former glory in a way that was respectful to its architecture.”

This meant turning to bespoke kitchen design company Harvey Jones. Sarah McNeill from the Edinburgh showroom was tasked with designing a “non-kitchen kitchen” sensitive to the aesthetic of the house, which was designed by celebrated architect Alexander Cullen in 1888 and formerly owned by the Church of Scotland.

“It’s almost like a doll’s house – a mini castle with a turret, surrounded by apple trees,” says the proud owner. “I’m heavily inspired by old places such as the Fife Arms hotel and wanted to create a Victorian feel.”

The Original range by Harvey Jones was an obvious fit to achieve that heritage look. Popular with people who own period properties, the cabinetry is delicate and refined with double-panelled doors, dovetailing beautifully with this room’s decorative plasterwork ceiling and architrave.