KITCHEN PROJECT
ASTRID TRÜGG’S NEW KITCHEN BLENDS COLOUR AND TEXTURE TO CREATE A LIGHT, MODERN SPACE
FEATURE ALISON GIBB
The oak island brings texture to the kitchen design and contrasts beautifully with the white quartz worktop, a practical surface that adds a light touch to the room.
PROJECT DETAILS
WHO LIVES HERE? Astrid Trügg, an artist, @astridtruggart, lives here with her husband Paul Bekkers, their children, Tobias, 15, and Isabel, 13, and two Border collies.
THE PROJECT A multi-room remodel in a converted Victorian villa in North Berwick, East Lothian.
TOTAL COST APPROX £30,000
BEFORE
THE PROBLEM
The kitchen was cramped and narrow while the hallway was overly large
THESOLUTION
‘We gave the new layout a lot of thought as we were upgrading our home all over. My brother-in-law, Rolf van Boxmeer, is an architect in Holland, where I am from, and I’m an artist, so I sent him lots of sketches which he worked from to draw up the plans. Opening the huge hallway to the adjacent small office and music room enabled us to create a spacious kitchen with a utility room. The open-plan sitting and dining area was originally an outbuilding and vestibule. We extended the length of this area by just 50cm and added another storey to create a bedroom upstairs. In the kitchen we turned the draughty back door into a large sash window. We divided the original long narrow kitchen into a smaller entrance hall, a downstairs loo and a study accessed from the living room.’
ABOVE ‘The ceiling was lowered by 40cm, so the extractor workings could be hidden, and the gap was filled with insulation. This makes the space easier to heat and helps to block sound from above.’
BLACK METAL-FRAMED DOORS Bring a note of industrial chic
RIGHT An exposed stone wall adds rugged texture and timeless character, and is a further element in the skilful balance of original, traditional and contemporary features in the space.
FOCUS ON
EXPOSED STONE WALLS
If you live in an old stone building, like Astrid, here’s what you need to know about exposing and restoring original interior walls…
Your first step is to pull away the plaster board. This is a messy job and hard work and once finished the stonework may need repointing.
If it looks loose, rake out the
