Dark Kitchen Gets a Bright New Look

The owners of this home in Bristol, England, had been renting for a year when they decided to make the city their permanent home. This Victorian house was in need of some serious care and attention, but it had the space they were looking for. Architect Elke Dittrich helped the family bring their style and personalities to the home in a whole-house renovation, completed in five months. Dittrich worked closely with one of the homeowners, who is a graphic designer, to create this light, bright kitchen. The pair are friends, and Dittrich says of her, “It was a pleasure to work with someone with such a strong vision.”

Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A family of 4
Location: Bristol, England
Size: About 24 by 11 feet (7.3 by 3.4 meters)
Designer: Elke Dittrich of DHV Architects

When the family bought the home, the ground floor was a warren of rooms with very little light. “There were actually two kitchens — the original Victorian one and another 1970s kitchen beyond it, plus a bathroom and scullery beyond that,” Dittrich says.

She stripped the area, which involved removing a large chimney breast and putting in a substantial amount of steel to support the building. The result was well worth it, though: a light-filled, spirit-lifting space.

Cabinets: Ikea; flooring: rubber, Dalhaus Dalsouple Rubber Works


Dittrich’s homeowner friend is half German, half Finnish and a graphic designer, and wanted to have a clean, almost Scandinavian look, Dittrich says. She went with a light and natural color palette, mixing woods with white in typical Scandi style.

As the daughter of an art dealer, the homeowner had plenty of artworks with which to decorate, including some original Bauhaus pictures.


In addition to the ground floor’s being a dark maze of rooms, the garden was hidden from view. “There were no windows,” Dittrich says. Adding a small flat-roof extension enabled her to insert glass to the same height as the windows in the rest of the room, which wouldn’t have been possible with a sloping lean-to roof.

“The kitchen is west-facing, and light was one of the most important factors in the design. For us, that’s always the most important thing — to create a space that’s not only comfortable, but makes you happy, too,” Dittrich says.

The garden was overgrown and required a lot of attention, but is now a lovely, leafy space.


The homeowner found the kitchen units at Ikea. “That’s the nice thing about her house,” Dittrich says. “It’s a wonderful example of how to combine classic pieces with more affordable options.”


The Arne Jacobsen dining chairs are a good example of a well-chosen design classic. Paired with an Ikea wooden dining table, they create a look that’s fresh and understated, with a clear sense of the simplicity so fundamental to Scandinavian schemes.

The children’s artwork is displayed all over the wall, bringing personality to the room. “The display shows how things that are often thought of as quite messy can be shown in an organized and beautiful way,” Dittrich says.

Chairs: Series 7 by Arne Jacobsen, via The Conran Shop; sliding doors: Velfac


The homeowner chose to avoid continuous cabinets in favor of a more freestanding look. “The whole room is a mixture of modern and traditional,” Dittrich says. The countertop is maple, and the couple installed and waxed it themselves to cut costs as the project came to a close.


The Smeg range gives the room a country edge. The homeowner “didn’t want it to be completely modern and was keen it had a bit of a traditional twist, too, as it’s a period house,” Dittrich says.


It was important for Dittrich that there be a variety of lighting in the room. “We find that in a kitchen, particularly a kitchen-diner, you need to have different types of lights for different functions. You need task as well as ambient lighting,” she says. Downlights are combined with a pendant over the dining table to create different atmospheres for entertaining and other activities.

More:
Dream Spaces: 12 Beautiful White Kitchens
How to Get That Modern Scandinavian Look

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