The small kitchen was opened up into a living kitchen island terrazzo that now reaches toward the dining area. The change is easy to read in the plan: one long surface, a central island, and cabinets that turn the corner instead of stopping at the wall. Wood and terrazzo set the tone, while pink panels and black lines keep the composition from becoming heavy. The cellar door is hidden inside the cabinetry, so the storage wall stays calm even with a lot going on behind it.

An island that leads straight into the dining area

The island does more than add work surface. It extends the kitchen toward the table, so cooking and dining sit in one continuous zone. That relationship shows clearly in the open sightline from the kitchen to the dining area next to kitchen. The island top is terrazzo, with a surface that carries the eye across the room and holds the darker base beneath it in place. Around it, the cabinetry wraps the corner and creates the extra storage the original kitchen did not have.

What makes the layout work is the way the volumes are kept low and direct. Cabinets run as a compact band, then stop only when they need to turn. That move opens the room without leaving it empty. The kitchen no longer reads as a separate box. It belongs to the living space, and the island becomes the point where movement slows down: a place to prepare, lean, eat, and look across to the dining table.

Wood, terrazzo and the color shifts in the fronts

The kitchen was designed and made as a colorful living kitchen, but the color is handled in measured pieces. Wood fronts provide the main rhythm, while pink panel accents break up the surfaces and give the room a lighter edge. Black accent lines trace the cabinet faces and sharpen the geometry. Together they keep the composition clear, even where the fronts become more layered. The result is not decorative noise; it is a system of surfaces that can hold daily use.

The custom wood kitchen cabinets are doing the practical work here. They carry the storage, conceal the cellar door, and continue around the corner so the kitchen reads as one built-in element rather than separate units. In the photographs, the wood grain sits next to terrazzo and painted panels, which gives the room a steady change of texture. The palette stays grounded because the materials repeat in a few strong moves instead of many small gestures.

A terrazzo countertop with a hand-built feel

The terrazzo countertop was composed specifically for this kitchen, and that shows in the way it sits against the wood. The surface has enough movement to catch the light, but not so much that it takes over the room. It works especially well near the island, where the eye catches the speckled stone before it moves on to the darker base. The terrazzo countertop also links naturally to the kitchen’s other finish choices, so the whole room feels assembled rather than applied.

There is a second terrazzo moment in the open kitchen zone, where a terrazzo-style backsplash or work zone appears in an alcove-like setting. That detail gives the wall a denser texture and makes the kitchen feel less flat. It also helps the black lines and the pink panels register more clearly. The materials are not spread everywhere; they are placed where they can do something visually useful, such as marking a working area or framing a niche.

Statement wall lights against grey walls

The square wall lights are small objects, but they carry a lot of visual weight. Against the grey walls, their shape stands out at once. The walls keep the background quiet enough for the lights to read as an accent, while the existing moulding of the heritage house remains visible around them. That matters. The detailing of the original room is not covered over. It stays in view beside the new kitchen elements, so the house keeps its profile even after the layout change.

This is also where the color strategy becomes more restrained. Grey surrounds the lights, wood brings in depth, and the black cabinet lines keep the room from drifting into softness. The lighting does not just decorate the wall. It gives the room a clear point of focus, especially when seen from the dining side, where the island, the fronts and the wall lights all register in one glance.

How the entry hall picks up the same language

The entry hall was adjusted as part of the same project, and the changes echo the kitchen without copying it. Vertical wood slats and built-in storage give the hall a stronger edge, while niches keep the wall from becoming one flat plane. In one of the images, the hall also shows a dark floor with a small floral tile pattern, which adds another layer of texture near the white door and the timber-lined recess. The space feels connected to the rest of the home through material rather than through repetition.

That link is important because the hall is where the house starts to speak. The wood treatment here is less about display and more about giving the entry a clear order. It sets up the move into the living kitchen, where the same attention to cabinets and surfaces continues. Seen together, the hall and kitchen show how the project shifts between open family space and more enclosed storage without losing the thread between them.

Keeping the original trim in view

The characteristic moulding of the house still frames the rooms, and the new elements are set against it rather than replacing it. In the kitchen, that means the walls stay readable even when the cabinetry turns the corner and the island expands the plan. In the hall, it means the new timber features sit beside a more classical envelope. The contrast is plain but controlled: old trim, grey walls, wood fronts, terrazzo surfaces, black lines. Nothing is hidden except the cellar door, and that concealed detail is part of the charm of the whole arrangement.

Photographs by Robert Dodd