Today’s new traditional kitchen renovation is glorious. Featuring luxe marble, shaker cabinetry, stunning parquet floors and so many thoughtful details, it’s one for your Pinterest board for sure!
Home owner and photographer, Helen Cathcart, shows us around her modern classic contemporary European designed kitchen. She also shares her top tips and things she learnt while managing this renovation project herself.
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Helen’s new traditional kitchen was designed by herself and was a true labour of love.
“I am a photographer by trade,” Helen tells us. “I get to shoot in fabulous places all the time, so I’m spoilt with all the nice places I see and took loads of inspiration for my own kitchen. Often I ask the interior designers I’m photographing for lots of tips!
“Although I must say, doing this kitchen reno myself made me realise that interior designers are worth their weight in gold! There are SO many difficult decisions to make! But I’m so in love with how our kitchen turned out.”
Originally 2 separate rooms, the renovation required lots of demo and plenty of planning to get it to how it looks today.
“When we moved in, we had a very small kitchen and a slightly bigger dining room. We knocked through the wall to create a large open plan kitchen and dining space.
“I was determined to have uninterrupted floor to ceiling glass doors. But it wasn’t as easy as I was expecting!” Helen laughs.
“Our builder was adamant we had to have a column in the middle. But then somehow, he found a way to give me the full opening I was after. Let’s just say it involved a lot of steel! I’m so glad I persisted — it absolutely makes it feel like the garden is inside. I absolutely love it.”
As with any renovation project, it’s all about where to spend, and where to save.
“The kicking off point for this reno was probably the doors,” Helen recalls. “We went round and round in circles to get me the Crittal look doors I was after. But it was so expensive that we had to go back on those plans.
“Instead we went with aluminium with Crittal glazing bars on them to give a more heritage feel. I think they look great and were much, much cheaper!
“For the rest of the space, I’d seen a particular kitchen on Instagram. It was white with a dark wooden island and that was my starting point. Then it was working back from what we could afford!
“I knew I had to have that marble. I have been obsessed with Rose Antico marble from Porter Bathroom. Compromising on that marble was never an option! It makes my heart sing every day, although being marble, you do get quite paranoid about it!”
With so many stunning features in this new traditional kitchen, we had to get the inside scoop on where everything was from.
“Needless to say, the marble is the star of the show — Rose Antico marble from Porter Bathroom. Porter’s headquarters is based in Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, which is where I’m from. I love that I got to hand pick these slabs myself.
“The beautiful parquet floors are from Trunk Floor. I got to watch them being stained to the exact colour I wanted. A little bit of Ireland in my home,” smiles Helen.
“The range cooker is from Bertazzoni and our stools are Winchester walnut from Cult Furniture. Our gorgeous feature pendant lights were bespoke made for me from Brilliance Lightings on Etsy.
“Our sliding doors were created by ODC Door and Glass. We had glazing bars added to for that Crittal look.
“For the paint colour on the walls and shaker style cabinetry, we used White Lead by Little Greene Paint Company.”
Knowing she took on a lot of the challenges herself, we had to get Helen’s tips on tackling a kitchen renovation.
“Oh my gosh, I learnt SO much along the way! Often the hard way of course!” she laughs.
“If you’re having a floating marble shelf like we have, address this early so it’s included in the build stage, not at the end.
“Have lots of different lighting. Go brighter for cooling and ambient for night. I wish we’d put in a nightlight option for when you just want to go in while it’s dark and grab a glass of water.
“Big one… don’t scrimp on plug sockets!
“Be sure to think about the practicalities of how you will use your kitchen. We need more cutlery drawers than we have, so that was a learning for us.
“Get whoever builds you kitchen, to install it too. We had quite a few discrepancies which was super frustrating.
“When deciding on paint colours, paint a whole wall to see what it looks like. Small patches are not enough, and paint will look different in every room! I had to change mine after a whole coat had been done as it looked completely different to our test patch.
“And lastly, I wish I’d put in one of those taps that goes above your cooker to fill saucepans with. That would have been super handy (and looked beautiful too!).”
Credits
Photography — Helen Cathcart
Kitchen design — Mack Design
Bespoke kitchen build — Crafted Enniskillen
Builder — J.P. O’Shea Construction
Marble — Antica Rose, Porter Bathroom
Parquet floor — Trunk Floor
Sliding doors — ODC Doors & Glass
Range cooker — Bertazzoni
Stools — Winchester walnut, Cult Furniture
Lights — Bespoke design, Brilliance Lighting via Etsy
Paint — White Lead from Little Greene Paint Company
Wow! So many incredible renovation tips from someone who’s lived through it and learnt from the experience. Thank you so much to Helen for showing us around her incredibly beautiful new traditional kitchen.
If you’d like to see more of Helen’s stunning photography work, check out her Instagram page or visit her website.
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