Victorian kitchen renovation. Help please! PHOTOS

[Namechangedzzz]

Hi. We will shortly be renovating our kitchen completely. It is important to us that although it is a new kitchen it still has a bit of Victorian in it as the rest of of the house has a lot of original features. (The current kitchen doesn't.)

We have had pictures through which I am disappointed with but I think it is because they don't have any nod to the Victorian era in them which we will add through sash windows, Victorian style drawer handles, lights, tiled floor etc. The tiles I like are cream with a light grey and light blue in them but could easily change this. We are getting quotes from a joiner for the cupboards and also from the people our builder usually works with (magnet).

There will be a tall pantry where they have put the fridge and the fridge will move next to the back door (taking out some of the drawers/cupboard). There will probably be 3 windows at the end and not two.

So my question is... Bearing in mind it isn't a massive kitchen, what colour cabinets and what type and colour of worktops should I have please? Any help gratefully received!!! (Initially I had thought both natural wood by the joiner but DH is very worried it will be too dark and I think I can see his point.)

We have had pictures through which I am disappointed with
Trust your gut. It's more than lack of Victorian detail (ignored the brief), it's also the impracticality of the design (H&S dangers).
Bin them off and start again with a different company who know what they are talking about.

Sorry but I think the hob on the island (which also seems to serve as a dining table) is a terrible idea!

I can’t bear islands unless in vast kitchens

I agree with other posters about the hob/island location being a disaster waiting to happen.

I'd also suggest looking at HKOC for in-frame kitchens - although I understand the lead time is currently lengthy. We got our current kitchen from there in 2015 - although due to an unplanned house move we didn't fit it at that property but in the next house we purchased in 2018 🙄 It's in a very traditional style with beaded doors - although we mostly have drawers - and we found an original reclaimed larder cupboard on eBay that completes the look. Solid pewter handles/knobs, iroko worktops, a range cooker with stone-style hood over, butler sink and quirky articulated tap all add to the period character. However, we wanted to give it a contemporary twist, so opted for a bright red range and topped the island with microcement 😃

Since these pics we've repainted the base cabinets in F&B Oval Room Blue.

Posted too soon!

The wall cabinets are now the same cream as the walls and hood, whilst the island is also Oval Room Blue 😉

[quote Champersandchocolate]@BlueMongoose I love Dekton worktops 😊 I'm having Laurent for my new kitchen. [/quote]
Thanks, some of those look like 'possibles'!

Some Victorian tile designs here. I'd love to have some of the Victorian or Arts and Crafts ones myself, even in my 20s house, but they'd overstretch my budget at the moment. Maybe one day....

pilgrimtiles.co.uk/shop/?swoof=1&Period=4&product_cat=arts-and-crafts,victorian

I agree don't be disheartened. When DH and I designed our new kitchen we sat at the table for hours drawing rough sketch after rough sketch. By the time we were finished we had a kitchen full of crumpled up discarded sketches. But we had a plan and it worked great for years.

@LoveFall

I agree don't be disheartened. When DH and I designed our new kitchen we sat at the table for hours drawing rough sketch after rough sketch. By the time we were finished we had a kitchen full of crumpled up discarded sketches. But we had a plan and it worked great for years.

Absolutely agree with this. We had a lot of delays with ours due to covid, and in the time, the design evolved as we used the kitchen (we'd only just moved in when covid began) to a much better result.

Mine is another comment to say don't put the flat job on the island like that, it's asking for trouble. It looks sleek and swish now, but think about when you have saucepans with boiling substances on there, with sticking out handles. Then having to walk across to the sink or anywhere else with said saucepan to pour out boiling water. The doors nearby create another hazard. I'd put the job along a side wall.

I see a lot of recommendations for Karen at OnePlan in terms of kitchen design on MN, and I follow her on Houzz as well, and will be using her when I'm ready to replace my kitchen. It would likely be money well spent to commission a fresh new design based on the Victorian feel you are trying to create, while considering all the practicalities.

*flat hob

I thought you had posted pics of the old kitchen😂
You can't have an island, it's too small, and not victorian at all.

Have a look at EastburnPine for inspiration. They do period stuff and new. I think you need something of age, scrubbed table or larder cupboard. The oversized appliance are a no.