'We thought OUTSIDE THE BOX'

Jane and Guy have added bespoke doors and industrial touches to give their budget kitchen a designer look

- VICTORIA JENKINS/KAREN WILSON

COST CUTTER ‘Buying ready-made carcases and having bespoke doors and shelves made by a joiner saved a lot of money’

COME ON IN!

ABOUT ME I’m Jane Neil, a graphic designer, and I live here with my husband Guy, a town planner, and our daughter Ellen, nine, in an extended five-bedroom semi-detached 1900 house in Beckenham, southeast London.

MY CHALLENGE Although it was in good condition, our ’90s kitchen was dated and felt dark. We never really used the garden properly as it was a dead area, so we wanted a bigger, sunnier kitchen-diner that linked to the outside space.

MY WISH LIST I wanted a sociable kitchen with a contemporary style and industrial touches. A long island where I could cook and chat to people sitting at stools was a must.

TAKE A SEAT ‘Keeping one end of the island open allows for a sociable arrangement of two stools on either side’

With a brown wooden kitchen, little light coming through the west-facing window and an unused side garden, our house needed a major rethink,’ says Jane. ‘When we asked architect Simon Skeffington for ideas, we expected him to square off the back to give us a bigger kitchen. Instead he surprised us with his creative ideas – literally sketched on the back of an envelope – which made use of the unusual wedge-shaped plot that’s narrower at the rear.