Before and after of our kitchen diner extension

It’s been a while but I’m back and sharing more about our kitchen diner extension which was completed last October. We moved into this house back in 2018 and always knew that we wanted to extend the kitchen. We wanted to add space, enjoy more of an open-plan way of living and bring in more light as we are north west facing and so the back of the house was very dark. After living in the house for a few years, we finally had the time, energy, and money (hello remortgage) to properly get cracking. But in early 2022 we finally got started and work started in June, completing in October. We had an amazing builder and having someone who was top of his game and with us every step of the way made such a huge difference to stress-levels. We felt so comfortable with him and his team, and for me that was such an important factor with deciding who we went with.

So, what was the kitchen like before?

This was our kitchen prior to extending. It was a decent space and not small by any means, but felt very dark and as you can see, the kitchen was definitely worse for wear after being unchanged for 18 years! We had space for a table in the corner of the room but we were craving a more open-plan kitchen diner. The kitchen was 4.7m wide and we decided to extend out by 4m, making it approximately 7.5m in length.

Let’s talk about the kitchen first

We visited a few kitchen showrooms but eventually settled on the Howdens Elmbridge kitchen (a gorgeous shaker style) in porcelain for the wall units, and dusk blue for the island. Originally we were going to go for a dark blue island but we fell in love with their dusk blue and so went with this for this and I’m so pleased that we did as it matches the feel of the room so beautifully. We wanted a simple run of wall units with some open shelving so that we could personalise the space and make the room feel more open and airy, and a big island was a must-have. Ours is 2.9m x 1.2m wide with an overhang on two sides so that when we eat on the island we can face each other.

I have always wanted a quartz worktop. We had wood in our last flat and found it too high maintenance and not practical when you have children (adore the look of it though!) so were keen to have quartz. We used Granite Zone and they were fantastic – they were the cheapest quote and service was amazing from start to finish.

I will write a separate blog post sharing our favourite features of the kitchen in more detail but we thought about everything very carefully and did a lot of research. The space flows seamlessly and using the kitchen is such a joy. My husband also did a great job at sourcing the appliances – he went for top specs but found them on eBay for far cheaper as some were out of the packaging or had very slight damage that wouldn’t be seen once installed so wasn’t an issue at all.

We found finding the perfect island seating very difficult – we loved the look of the Cox & Cox stools but had heard mixed reviews on how comfy they are. Luckily my sister-in-law found these at Newark’s incredible antiques fair and they were exactly what we wanted. Also a bargain at only £60 each!

The kitchen space leads into the diner/living area

We have managed to fit a 2m long table and a sofa at the end of the room, to make it an open plan living space. The kitchen diner extension really is our daytime living space and it has transformed our way of living. We love to entertain and so being able to cook whilst family and friends are chatting around the table or sat on the island is wonderful. It’s also perfect for family life as we have two little girls who love to sit and colour (or play fight with each other!) while we get on with dinner.

We went for bifolds on both sides of the room and we absolutely love them. Most people opt for the anthracite grey but we wanted a colour that would be more in keeping with the style of our house, so went for RAL 7032 in pebble grey. When we open all of the bifolds up it truly feels like you’re outside and changes the whole feel of the room. It also means that the girls can happily play in the garden but feel like you’re still with them (whilst you’re cleaning the kitchen, so much time spent cleaning the kitchen!). We also had four large Velux windows put in the pitched roof and these bring in so much light.

Where is everything from in our kitchen diner extension?

I’ve listed the main suppliers below but do comment if you’d like to know where something specific is from. All of the kitchen styling has been carried out by Soo Home and has made a huge difference to the space. Styling is not our forte so Isabelle came in and made it the most warm and wonderful room. We will be adding artwork soon too.

Kitchen units: Howdens Elmbridge in porcelain and dusk blue

Kitchen worktops: Kashmir quartz from Granite Zone

Island lights: Industville Brooklyn pendant lights

Island stools: purchased from Newark Antiques Fair

Bifolds: Pebble Grey RAL 7032 supplied and fitted by Tradeglaze

Builder: Freeman Builders in Lincolnshire

Kitchen table: Reclaimed table from RCC Furniture

Table chairs: Eames DSW chairs

Sofa: IKEA

As you can probably tell, we are so over the moon with our kitchen diner extension and it was worth every penny. I’ll be sure to write more posts about some of the detail but if you have any questions in the meantime please do get in touch!