A New Family Kitchen/Dining Space

Lynne was coming to the end of extending and renovating her 2-bedroom bungalow in Essex. It had been flood-damaged when she’d bought the property, so the full home needed re-decorating.

Being a single parent responsible for all renovation decisions, she was “running out of steam for the kitchen/diner area.

A New Family Kitchen/Dining Space

A KITCHEN/DINER ROOM LAYOUT THAT WORKS

After many tries of different dining table sizes and shapes, Lynn couldn’t get the room right. No matter what she tried, there was wasted space and she couldn’t achieve a dining table garden view. With a very clear industrial interior design style in mind, the layout of the room was making Lynne feel stuck – “I couldn’t get my head around where everything went”.

She’d been to numerous kitchen design companies, but none of them could give her any new ideas. They also couldn’t work out how to overcome a “wall that was completely wasted because of where the utility door is”.

Already having renovated the rest of her home, Lynne was now lacking energy. With this being a central hub in her home, she wanted to make sure any investment was well spent and would be the right decision. Lynne thought, “I’m done – I don’t want to make any more decisions”.

That’s when she started looking for an interior designer. She wanted to reach her industrial, New York loft-style vision AND maximise the space for her family.

Overwhelmed, Lynne needed “some support and guidance to help realise my vision”

A New Family Kitchen/Dining Space

HIRE AN INTERIOR DESIGNER TO BRING IDEAS TO LIFE AND MAXIMISE SPACE

When Lynne first spoke to Vicky at My Claybrick Home, she explained that she “wanted something a bit different”.

There were a few key things Lynne wanted to achieve, including:

• A garden view from the dining seating area
• Plenty of storage and a good-sized kitchen island
• A way to integrate her separate utility room into the design
• An industrial style look – using dark colours and materials such as red brick slips and scaffold boards

There was also a limited budget for this design. Not having worked with an interior designer before, she worried it would be out of her price range. Lynne thought an interior designer would “show me some lovely, lovely things, but they would be outpriced for me”.

With these points in mind, Vicky at My Claybrick Home created some affordable initial designs in 2D. Starting with four layout designs, we narrowed it down to the best two. Then Vicky created one final in-depth 3D design that combined the best features.

Lynne said the video walk-around “really, really made sense” to bring the ideas to life and “cemented in that the design was going to work in that space”. She also said, “it was really helpful having those [design] stages because sometimes you look at an idea and go ‘yeah, I absolutely love it’, but then seeing it in 2D and 3D you can visualise it better”.

Throughout the project, the designs changed when different challenges presented themselves. One aspect was the location of a seated bench, which had to be moved to accommodate the dishwasher. The original seating plan didn’t work – so we went back to the drawing board. Deciding on an L-shaped bench, Lynne could get her garden view from both the dining table and the island.

Presenting different amendments helped Lynne to realise which design was the right one – “Vicky kept giving me other options and I think sometimes having a few different options made me realise which one was the right one”.

A New Family Kitchen/Dining Space

A PERFECT FAMILY KITCHEN/DINER SPACE WITH A HIDDEN UTILITY ROOM

In total, Vicky at My Claybrick Home helped Lynne with:

• 2D layout designs
• 3D visual designs with video walk-through
• Colourway options to fit with the industrial style
• Sourcing materials and different price range options

This full interior design service brings your ideas to life and takes the pressure away from every step.

Now, Lynne has almost finished her renovation project, with a few finishing touches to go. She’s very pleased with the result, having ticked all the boxes. She was really impressed with Vicky’s design to integrate the utility room behind a “secret false door” – that’s her favourite part of the design!

Lynne said, “Vicky was aware of the budget”, with only the red brick slip tiles being more expensive than planned. Lynne also mentioned how Vicky was “not raising her eyebrows at me for buying second-hand couches”. Vicky at My Claybrick Home ultimately always encourages doing what’s best for you and your home.

Lynne was pleased with how “very patient” Vicky was, also saying she, “didn’t make her feel stupid” and gave her “breathing space … with no pressure” to take her time throughout the process.

With a few tweaks along the way and some external delays beyond our control, Lynne finally has the kitchen/diner area she’s always wanted. Overall, Lynne said she “couldn’t have done it” without My Claybrick Home’s help. She has “already recommended Vicky to people” and would use us again as she was “really happy with Vicky’s service”.

We love hearing happy customers and seeing the difference our interior design service makes to their everyday lives! If you have an interior design problem that’s driving you to frustration, get in touch with Vicky at My Claybrick Home to work out an innovative and affordable solution.

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Vicky Labinger