Director Architect Francesco Draisci shows readers around a
modern family kitchen.

Mum, dad and their two teenage daughters desired a modern space, open to
the garden. It had to be a functional kitchen that could be flexibly adapted to support both a very social lifestyle and the family’s love of the great outdoors and outside activities.

Also, plenty of storage, a more open feel and connectivity between all the
rooms were required for the ground floor of this traditional Victorian house. I was also tasked with ensuring it was possible for the house cats to come in and out of the garden without the family having to open the doors.

The previous layout is extremely common for terraced properties around London. As an architect, it’s my job to
use my skills to design a potential good model for re-configuring most of them and making the most of the small garden. In doing so, we developed the scheme in close communication with the client, acting as architectural interpreters of the family’s needs.

Modern day families deserve a space that matches a lifestyle different from Victorian ones. And it’s my job to create a
stunning and practical kitchen that suits their modern day needs.

With a boost of confi dence and full support from the adventurous structural engineer (also the man of the family) most of the walls were demolished including the ground level rear façade.

At that point the whole space opened up from side to side, and a new foldaway glass screen was installed to maximise openness and flexibility towards the garden.

This structural challenge was not particularly complex, except for the extremely accurate setting out of all the new beams to avoid lowering the top of the new bespoke glass doors too much. Maximising the view and the light flooding through the space had always been one of the guiding ambitions of the whole project, as well as harmonising, as much as possible, the proportions of the new to the old.

A structural portal now frames the glass doors flanked by two masterly executed brick piers.

All the drainage and down-pipes were re-directed. Some were also clad with insulation to avoid winter condensation when pipes run from outside to inside.

Most of the attention was put in trying to make the pipes look like they disappear while also keeping them accessible
for maintenance purposes. Once the space was cleared, we were able to concentrate on the next challenge. This was to figure out how the cats could come in and out of the house as they pleased without having to go through a drafty cat flap.

For that purpose, we designed bespoke flaps integrated into the kitchen cabinets to avoid them having to go through the glazing system. The cats go through a hole in the side pier and exit from the outside kitchen cabinets. These “designer cat flaps” became a running joke to everyone involved in the building project from start to finish.

To further enhance the outdoor-indoor connection and expand the visual space available to us, we worked with a few
design elements. The new kitchen – once constrained in a narrow layout – now opens up to the dining area and shapes
the whole living space. I believe that It becomes the element at the core of the life of the new environment.

Meanwhile, a 7m long polished-concrete counter, running from inside to outside, links the house to the garden. The concrete backsplash and base and wall cabinets also flow through the sliding glass screen to support the family’s outdoor activities. The concrete counter and the base cabinets that I chose are also fabricated to withstand wet weather conditions.

Meanwhile, the timber floor, made of wide boards spanning from wall to wall is fitted on top of heating pipes. The unique horizontal surface unites the ground floor areas, defines a small outdoor patio before stepping to the upper side of the garden. The steps are also used as informal seating – great for dinner parties or barbecues if there are a lot of guests.

A long skylight lets natural light flow over the kitchen worktop, while the glossy surfaces of the bespoke furniture ambiguously enhance the reflective play between inside and outside.

On another note, the harmonic colour scheme, both outside and inside, creates a consistent atmosphere, warm and welcoming, as well as helping to diffuse the light in the depth of the plan.

Accents of warm bright colours also recur around the space allowing visual connections between the different areas of the open plan space. A bright orange extraction hood highlights the cooking function, while still keeping it abstract, in
contrast with the warm grey background finishes. More lemon, yellow and pink add joyful touches to the palette.

A full height narrow slot breaks one corner of the open plan, helping with the dissolving of the traditional room
configuration. More storage cabinets with matching finishes blend with the rest of the fitted furniture while a new opening leads to the front TV room.

The modern exactitude and flushness of the new surfaces we had in mind did not always fit the reality of the old walls,
floors and ceiling. But we managed to achieve the continuity of the finishes through a careful coordination of the
inconsistent existing structure.

To increase the flexibility of the kitchen, a versatile mobile island has also been designed to complement the fixed units. It can be wheeled around to wherever it is needed, animating the open environment with its versatile identity.

With a matching finish to the fitted furniture, it can be placed along a wall or in the middle of the space articulating the
plan in different ways.

Moreover, this mobile island increases the kitchen storage; it contains the recycling bins, the cutlery, pots, pans and cookery books. Also, when open, it reveals a mini wine cellar. It can be used as a long or angled preparation counter
as well as a glamorous cocktail bar.

At will, it can even incorporate an ice bucket or a flowerpot and can be wheeled outside to the garden. Made out of two hinged carcasses, it is safe and easy to operate.

To sum up, the newly established relationship with the garden gives the space an ever-changing mood quality without compromising its practicality. The family are very happy with the transformation and love the flexibility it gives them.

Not only does it enable them to use the most of the natural light, but it also provides them with the opportunity to switch between daily routines and glamorous cocktail parties!

Log onto www.draisci.com for more of Francesco’s work.