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Anna Hope redesigned the kitchen extension in her Victorian townhouse, replacing a cramped galley layout and an awkwardly placed bathroom with an L-shaped kitchen and a bathroom under the stairs. The finished room combines dark cabinetry, terracotta tiles, softer lighting and antique furniture; the homeowner says it works better for family life.
Anna Hope has transformed the kitchen extension in her Victorian townhouse, replacing a narrow, cold-feeling galley kitchen and a bathroom tucked into the room with a more functional layout and a warmer, vintage-inspired design. The completed renovation combines dark cabinetry, terracotta flooring and antique furniture to make the modern extension feel more connected to the period home and better suited to family use.
Before the work, the kitchen had white gloss cabinets, cream tiles and dark worktops. It received plenty of daylight from roof lights, glazed French doors and windows, but Hope said the finishes made the room feel sterile rather than inviting. A narrow downstairs bathroom had also been built against the back wall, leaving the kitchen’s working area as a small rectangle.
Hope worked with designers at Harvey Jones to rethink the floor plan. The bathroom walls were removed, the plumbing was rerouted and the bathroom was relocated beneath the stairs. The kitchen was rebuilt with an L-shaped run of cabinetry, while the local building company carried out the structural and service changes. The room was rewired so Hope could choose the positions of lights and sockets, and the existing spotlights were removed.
The new design uses Studio Green cabinetry, muted plaster-pink walls and raw terracotta tiles from Floors of Stone. Several windows and roof lights were filled in to make the room feel cosier, while a former bathroom window was enlarged to accommodate a traditional Victorian sash window. The original doorway lintel was reused as the sill behind the sink, retaining a piece of the home’s existing fabric.
A curved archway replaced the tall rectangular doorway between the kitchen and the rest of the house. Hope said it softens the connection between the extension and the period interior. The room also includes a century-old French dough-bin table used as an island, a Victorian dresser found through Instagram and a Georgian buffet sourced from Vinterior. Aged-brass hardware, cupboard curtains and worn-in Persian rugs add further period references.
A More Usable Family Kitchen
The redesign addresses two problems at once: the kitchen’s restricted working space and its lack of connection to the rest of the house. Moving the bathroom freed up the back of the room, while the L-shaped arrangement gives the kitchen a different footprint from the original narrow rectangle. Hope said the finished room works better and is a more enjoyable place for the family to spend time.
The project also shows how owners can approach a modern extension in a period home without trying to disguise its age or erase its history. Rather than relying on additional glazing to make the room brighter, Hope chose a cosier atmosphere, using fewer windows and warmer materials. Reusing the doorway lintel and adding a curved archway link the new interior to the house’s older features.
The antiques are part of the practical design as well as its appearance: the dough-bin table serves as the island, and the dresser and buffet provide furniture with individual character. The result is a room that pairs contemporary fitted cabinetry with older pieces, rather than treating the extension as a completely separate modern space.
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From Galley Layout to L-Shape
The kitchen was in a modern extension attached to a Victorian townhouse, a common arrangement in period homes. Its original layout included a narrow bathroom at the back, which Hope said felt out of place and cut into the usable kitchen area. Although the extension had several sources of daylight, she felt the white, cream and dark finishes made it seem cold.
The work began with a new floor-plan concept developed with Harvey Jones designers. A local building company then removed the bathroom walls, moved plumbing and replaced the existing fixtures and fittings. The redesign also considered how people moved between the kitchen and the older part of the house: the new archway replaced a rectangular doorway that Hope felt did not suit the proportions of the room.
The report appeared in Ideal Home and was first published in Period Living magazine. It identifies Harvey Jones as the kitchen designer and fitter and credits Laura Marin Rupolo for photography. It does not provide a project cost, a construction timetable or technical measurements.
Project Costs and Measures Unreported
The report does not state how much the renovation cost, how long the work took or the dimensions of the kitchen. It also does not give details about planning permission, building-control approvals or the technical specifications of the structural and plumbing work. There is no independent assessment of how the new layout performs over time; the reported evaluation of the finished room comes from Hope.
The article describes the visual and functional changes but does not set out why each window or roof light was selected for removal, beyond Hope’s preference for a cosier feel. The extent of any effect on daylight levels is not quantified. No claim is made that the design or materials would suit every period home; the choices were made for this particular townhouse.
The Completed Room in Use
The renovation is presented as complete, and the next step described in the report is simply the kitchen’s continued use as a working family space. Hope says the new layout is more practical and that the room is more enjoyable to spend time in. The article does not announce further building work, a follow-up project or a future construction milestone.
Readers considering similar changes would need to assess their own room, services and building requirements rather than assume the same plan will transfer directly. In Hope’s project, moving the bathroom required rerouting plumbing, and the building company also carried out wall work and rewiring. The report gives no project-specific guidance on approvals, so homeowners would need to confirm applicable requirements with the relevant professionals before planning comparable work.
Key Questions
What changed in Anna Hope’s kitchen extension?
The bathroom was moved from the back of the kitchen to beneath the stairs, and the galley layout was replaced with an L-shaped run of cabinetry. The renovation also changed the lighting, finishes and doorway between the kitchen and the rest of the house.
Which materials and colours feature in the redesigned kitchen?
The room includes Studio Green cabinetry, muted plaster-pink walls and raw terracotta floor tiles. Aged-brass details, cupboard curtains and Persian rugs contribute to the warmer, vintage-inspired finish.
What antiques were added to the kitchen?
The kitchen island is a 100-year-old French dough-bin table. The room also has a Victorian dresser found through Instagram and a Georgian buffet sourced from Vinterior.
Why were some windows and roof lights filled in?
Hope said she wanted a cosier feel and chose to fill in several windows and roof lights. The report says the bathroom window was enlarged to fit a traditional Victorian sash window, but it does not quantify changes to daylight in the finished room.
How much did the kitchen renovation cost?
The report does not provide a project cost or construction timetable. It names the designers and describes the work but does not publish a budget.
Source: idealhome.co.uk
