TL;DR
Get business pricing on your home office setup
- Business-only prices and quantity discounts
- Tax-exempt purchasing
- Multiple users, one account, clear invoices
Anna Hope has transformed the kitchen extension in her Victorian townhouse by removing a cramped downstairs bathroom, changing the layout and introducing warmer finishes and antiques. The renovation aimed to make the room more practical for her family while helping its modern structure feel connected to the period home.
Anna Hope has redesigned the kitchen extension in her Victorian townhouse, replacing a narrow, stark galley layout with an L-shaped kitchen, warmer materials and antique furniture. The work also moved a downstairs bathroom beneath the stairs, giving the family more usable kitchen space and helping the modern extension feel more at home beside the older house.
Before the renovation, the kitchen had white gloss cabinets, cream tiles and dark worktops. Hope described the room as cold and sterile, despite its natural light from roof lights, windows and glazed French doors. A narrow bathroom built into the back of the extension further restricted the kitchen, leaving what she called a small, narrow working area.
Hope worked with designers at Harvey Jones to rethink the floor plan. A local building company then removed the bathroom walls and existing fittings, rerouted plumbing and moved the bathroom under the stairs. The kitchen was rewired to allow the lights and sockets to be placed where Hope wanted them; existing spotlights were removed in favour of reclaimed antique lighting.
The redesign also changed the connection between the extension and the rest of the house. A rectangular doorway was replaced with a curved archway. 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.
A Better-Working Family Kitchen
The project addresses two linked problems often found in period homes with later extensions: limited working space and a visual divide between old and new. Moving the bathroom and replacing the galley arrangement changed how the kitchen functions, while the archway and reclaimed details helped tie the extension to the house’s character.
For this family, the result is not only a change in appearance. Hope said the room now works better and is a joyful place to spend time. The account does not provide project costs, construction dates or measured changes in the kitchen’s floor area, so the reported benefits are personal rather than quantified.
Products Worth Considering
Coway Airmega 250 Air Purifier for Large Rooms
Samsung 85-Inch M70H Series Mini LED 4K Smart TV (2026)
Bose SoundLink Flex Bluetooth Speaker (2nd Gen), Portable Waterproof Speaker, Black
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
From Stark Extension to Heritage-Inspired Room
As described in Ideal Home’s report, the kitchen was already in a modern extension of Hope’s Victorian townhouse. The previous owners had included a small bathroom at the back of the kitchen, an arrangement Hope found awkward and one that reduced the available work area. She also felt the old finishes made the naturally bright room feel unwelcoming rather than comfortable.
The renovation retained the extension but reconsidered its layout and details. Raw terracotta floor tiles from Floors of Stone, muted plaster-pink walls and dark green cabinetry set a warmer palette. The cabinetry, designed and fitted by Harvey Jones, includes beading that Hope said gave it a more individual look than a standard Shaker style. A similar dark green shade is Farrow & Ball’s Studio Green, the report notes.
Antique and second-hand pieces supply much of the room’s character: a 100-year-old French dough-bin table serves as the island, alongside a Victorian dresser found through Instagram and a Georgian buffet from Vinterior. Aged brass hardware, cupboard curtains and worn Persian rugs complete the look, according to the report.
Costs and Construction Details Not Reported
Ideal Home’s account does not state the renovation budget, project duration or exact dimensions of the kitchen before and after the work. It also does not give technical details about the structural changes, plumbing alterations or permissions, if any, that were required. The article documents Hope’s design choices and her view of the outcome, but does not include an independent assessment of the work or its cost.
The report does not identify when the renovation took place. Its description of the finished room and Hope’s comments establish that the changes were completed, but the timing and any plans for further work are not specified.
The Completed Room in Focus
The kitchen is presented as a completed renovation, rather than a project awaiting a next construction stage. Ideal Home’s report, which first appeared in Period Living magazine, documents the layout changes, material choices and furnishings; it does not announce further work or a forthcoming milestone.
For readers considering a similar redesign, the reported sequence offers a clear account of the decisions made in this home: remove the bathroom from the kitchen, rethink the cabinetry layout, adjust the openings and lighting, then bring in materials and furniture chosen to echo the period property. The article gives no cost guidance, so readers would need project-specific professional advice to judge feasibility for their own homes.
Key Questions
What changed in Anna Hope’s kitchen?
The renovation replaced the narrow galley arrangement with an L-shaped run of cabinetry, removed a bathroom from the back of the kitchen and relocated it beneath the stairs. The room was also rewired and its doorway to the house was changed to a curved arch.
Why was the downstairs bathroom moved?
Hope said the bathroom felt awkward in the corner of the kitchen and reduced the working area to a small, narrow rectangle. Moving it under the stairs opened up the kitchen layout.
Which features give the kitchen its vintage look?
The room includes terracotta floor tiles, dark green cabinetry, a Victorian sash window, aged brass finishes and antiques. These include a 100-year-old French dough-bin table, a Victorian dresser and a Georgian buffet.
How much did the renovation cost?
The Ideal Home report does not provide a project cost, nor does it state the renovation’s duration or the exact increase in usable kitchen space.
Source: idealhome.co.uk
