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Anna Hope has redesigned the kitchen extension in her Victorian townhouse, replacing a narrow, sterile-feeling layout with an L-shaped kitchen and a more connected floor plan. The renovation combines dark cabinetry, terracotta tiles and antique furniture with practical changes, including moving a downstairs bathroom beneath the stairs.
Anna Hope has transformed the kitchen extension in her Victorian townhouse from a narrow, poorly planned space into a family kitchen with an L-shaped cabinet layout, warm finishes and antique furniture. The renovation also removed a bathroom that had occupied part of the kitchen, relocating it beneath the stairs to free up working space.
Hope told Ideal Home that the old kitchen had white gloss cabinets, a cream tiled floor and dark worktops, which she felt made the bright room seem cold and sterile. The extension had roof lights, glazed French doors and windows, but a narrow bathroom built along the back wall left the kitchen as a small rectangle. Hope said the arrangement felt out of step with the rest of the house.
Working with designers at Harvey Jones, Hope replanned the room as an L-shaped kitchen. A local building company carried out the work, including removing the bathroom walls and existing fittings, rerouting plumbing, rewiring the space and moving the bathroom beneath the stairs. The doorway between the kitchen and the rest of the house was replaced with a curved arch.
The finished design uses darker cabinetry, muted pink walls and raw terracotta floor tiles. Hope also filled in several windows and roof lights to make the room feel cosier, while enlarging a former bathroom window to accommodate a traditional Victorian sash window. An old doorway lintel was reused as the windowsill behind the sink.
A Better-Fitting Family Kitchen
The renovation shows how changing a room’s layout can address problems that finishes alone would not solve. Moving the bathroom and reshaping the cabinets gave the kitchen a more usable plan, while the new archway helped connect the modern extension to the older house.
For readers renovating period homes, the project illustrates one approach to balancing newer construction with historic character. Hope selected antique furniture and described wanting reclaimed antique lighting, alongside new cabinetry. The design also draws on the home’s age through details such as the sash window, aged brass hardware and reused lintel. These choices are specific to this project, rather than a claim that one style suits every period home.
The change to the windows and roof lights is also a notable design decision: instead of maximizing daylight, Hope reduced some of it to create a more enclosed atmosphere. The example underscores that a successful kitchen plan depends on how the occupants want to use the space, not only on making it brighter or more open.
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From Narrow Extension to L-Shaped Plan
The kitchen was already in a modern extension to Hope’s Victorian townhouse. Although the extension had several sources of natural light, the layout included a narrow downstairs bathroom at the back, restricting the kitchen’s usable area. Hope said the rest of the house felt well proportioned by comparison.
The redesign began with stripping the room back and developing a new floor plan with Harvey Jones designers. The builders then handled structural and service changes, including removing walls, relocating plumbing and updating electrical wiring. The doorway was reshaped into an arch, and the bathroom moved under the stairs, allowing the kitchen to occupy more of the extension.
Hope’s decorative choices were intended to make the new room feel connected to the home’s history. Terracotta flooring and antique furniture provide aged textures, while the cabinetry’s detailed beading distinguishes it from a standard Shaker-style look. The furnishings include a century-old French dough-bin table used as an island, a Victorian dresser found through Instagram and a Georgian buffet bought from Vinterior. Ideal Home’s report first appeared in Period Living magazine.
Project Costs and Timeline Unreported
Ideal Home’s report does not give the cost of the renovation, how long the work took or whether the project encountered delays. It also does not specify the dimensions of the kitchen or provide details about the planning or building-control process. The article describes the completed design and Hope’s experience, but does not include an independent assessment of the work or its long-term performance.
Some product references are included in the original report, but the available account does not establish whether every listed item remains in stock or at the same price. The reported outcome is based on the homeowner’s account and the project information published by Ideal Home.
No Further Work Announced
The renovation is presented as complete, and the published report does not identify a next construction phase or a further milestone. The report does not specify whether Hope has plans for additional work or whether further project information will be shared.
The published account describes the completed changes: the bathroom was moved beneath the stairs, the kitchen was replanned, and the room was finished with period-inspired materials and antique furnishings. It does not provide details about any subsequent work.
Key Questions
What changed in the kitchen extension?
The renovation replaced the narrow layout with an L-shaped kitchen, removed a bathroom from the back of the room and moved it beneath the stairs. Builders also rewired the space, rerouted plumbing and replaced the rectangular doorway with an arch.
Why did Anna Hope renovate the kitchen?
Hope said the old kitchen felt cold and sterile, and that the bathroom reduced the working area to a small, narrow rectangle. She also felt the room did not fit the proportions of the rest of the townhouse.
Which materials and antiques feature in the new design?
The design includes raw terracotta tiles, dark green cabinetry and muted pink walls. Antique furnishings include a roughly 100-year-old French dough-bin table used as an island, a Victorian dresser and a Georgian buffet.
How did the renovation change the natural light?
Rather than keep every opening, Hope had several windows and roof lights filled in to create a cosier feel. A former bathroom window was enlarged to fit a traditional Victorian sash window.
How much did the renovation cost?
The reported article does not provide a project cost or a timeline for the work. It describes the design and building changes but does not give a budget.
Source: idealhome.co.uk
