Home decorator and content creator Leah Hodson is one of Ideal Home's new Open House contributors, sharing her thoughts on overhauling a home with clever DIY and decorating tricks. See the rest of her articles here.
My non-negotiable when looking for a house three years ago was that the house needs to have a new kitchen. Well, I didn’t get that in the end, as I realised that kitchens can always be renovated at a later date.
However, what I traded a new kitchen for were things that we couldn’t change in the future, like a decent-sized drive and access to amenities like schools, shops and even a faster train than we previously had to London!
The time for renovating our kitchen has finally come – I’ve been planning a new kitchen in my head for the last few years. Finally, after years of dreaming and months of working with my kitchen planner, my dream kitchen was delivered last week!
Jennifer, my Smile Kitchen planner was so patient and offered several solutions to my design dilemmas, including a last minute change after ordering my kitchen.
There was much to be done before the kitchen installation which I never considered when starting out this kitchen renovation! One thing I didn’t consider was leveling the floor. I assumed that the floor was level considering there were units on it previously, however we soon found out it was very uneven.
I considered doing the latex myself, however my husband was worried we’d then have to get someone in to correct any mistakes, so he’s gone ahead and hired a professional to level the floor instead. Secretly, I’m very thankful – one less job for me to do!
With constantly shifting timelines due to building works, I had assumed the electrician could carry out the second fix of electrics after the kitchen was installed, however I was advised by our builders that the counter top switches and lights should be installed prior to the kitchen as it would be tricker to install after.
I whipped out the paint rollers so quickly after he said that, but there were still so many walls that needed painting!
A little design choice I made after painting all the walls in an offwhite (RAL 9001, which is a very close match to Farrow and Ball’s School House White) was to paint the uPVC windows. I felt like the room needed a little pop of colour, so I used Rustoleum’s Laurel Green to bring the outside in. It’s the first time I used Rustoleum’s UPVC paint and I’m impressed with how easy it was to paint on the uPVC - it even passed the scratch test!
The kitchen I’ve gone for is the Jenson range from Smile Kitchen in Clay, a soft greige tone that perfectly balances modern and traditional design. While greige kitchens can sometimes lean a little cold, layering in warmer tones and softer details makes all the difference.
For me, the painted window introduces that warmth back into the space, softening the cabinetry and helping the kitchen feel more inviting and lived in.
Finally to the main event, the day that feels like Christmas day for me – kitchen installation! We’ve been without a kitchen since January and as someone who cooks all our meals, it’s been a challenge to say the least. But it is all worth it for a kitchen that I’ve designed (with the kitchen designer of course!).
We’re really happy with the build quality of Smile Kitchens – our fitter says the units are the best he’s seen for a long time! He was most impressed by how solid the cornice is and the 18mm backboard which is rare in kitchens that aren’t £100k!
You never know how much there is to consider until speaking to a kitchen designer to make sure the doors open easily without hindrance or if the flow works.
The kitchen fitting has only just started but we’ve run into a few troubles already! Like finding out that there’s a corner post missing that I’ve not noticed or a wall that isn’t flat and bows out in the middle. This is when not only the kitchen design matters but the kitchen fitter’s experience too! So I’m thankful we decided against fitting it ourselves as we would’ve been very out of our depth!
I’m not an interior designer but just a girl with a keen eye for design, trying to create a home that looks expensive without actually breaking the bank (aka champagne taste on a lemonade budget!) so I’m excited to finally see it all come together, after five long months of building works and eight weeks of waiting for my kitchen to be made.
Watching my design ideas slowly take shape piece by piece has been stressful at times, but incredibly rewarding now that everything is starting to feel cohesive and truly worth it.
