spotlight on wooden kitchens

Embrace natural textures and neutral tones for a kitchen that’s calming, easy to live with and bang on trend

N HE C T KI M/ FOR MORE STYLISH KITCHEN INSPIRATION, GO TO REALHOMES.CO BACK TO NATURE For ultimate calm, bring the feeling of the outdoors inside by mixing exposed wooden and soft green cabinets. Use the same exposed wood finish for your worktop to maintain a cohesive scheme. Otto Kitchen in rose walnut and bespoke Farrow & Ball Arsenic, from £7,500, Burbidge

#SOREALHOMES Five things... you need to know before choosing your wooden kitchen, for a space that’s as attractive and calming as it is practical BLANK CANVAS Wooden kitchens are a simple blank canvas from which you can experiment with your décor. Here the pink walls and floors add a feminine touch, while the metal finishes bring a modern industrial feel. Winchester Acacia kitchen, from £2,385 for eight units, Magnet WORK OF ART If you don’t want an entirely wooden kitchen, bring in some warmth by displaying a few wooden wall cabinets and keeping a block colour for the rest of your furniture. Coldharbour Grey and Market Mustard laminate with London Plane kitchen, from £10,000, Pluck

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‘As a natural material, the tone and pattern of wooden cabinets may vary from the samples you first saw. You should allow for this when planning your scheme,’ says Leila Touwen, co-founder of Pluck Kitchens. ‘Also the colour may change subtly over time.’ Celebrate these differences as they’ll make your kitchen unique.

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When choosing coloured and wooden cabinets, opt for corresponding undertones. For instance, walnut has a warm undertone and birch a cool. Complement with coloured units in the same undertone. ‘Choose a muted tone of a bolder shade to ensure the wood retains prominence,’ adds Ben Burbidge, MD at Kitchen Makers.

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Before you buy, check that your wood is FSC certified, to ensure your kitchen is environmentally friendly. FSC certifies forests all over the world to check that they meet the highest environmental and social standards. Wood and paper products marked with the ‘tick tree’ logo will have been made without harming the world’s forests.

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What about water splashes? ‘Oak veneer, like any timber, typically has a lacquer for increased durability. Repeated or sustained exposure to water would result in issues such as expanding or warping, but everyday spills and splashes are unlikely to cause too much damage,’ says Ben Burbidge.

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Exposed wooden cabinets look great, but if you change your mind they become a blank canvas for you to strip back and paint any colour you like. This versatility gives your kitchen a longer shelf life, making it more eco friendly and cost effective. See how to paint units at realhomes. com/design/how-to-paintkitchen-cabinets.

ISLAND LIFE

Wooden islands are perfect for an open-plan layout. Less ‘kitchen-y’, they can mimic furniture used in your dining or living areas, drawing the whole scheme together. Zone your space with coloured cabinets where you’ll be cooking, and wooden cabinets where you sit down to relax. Lastra Fjord and grey grained oak kitchen, from £3,900, LochAnna Kitchens

(NAKED DOORS) OLD HOUSE, NEW HOME STYLE WINNER

PARED-BACK LIVING This simplistic design is right on trend at the moment, with pale wood, inset handles and light finishes creating a minimalist, fuss-free kitchen, and one that’s good for the environment, too. Contemporary eco kitchen, from £25,000, Sustainable Kitchens GEORGE CLARKE’S

AMAZING PRODUCTIONS,

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GO WITH THE GRAIN

Bold graining brings a rustic touch to a modern space. The vertical detail on these tall cabinets pulls the eye upwards for a feeling of height. Matching chunky open shelving adds character. Bespoke kitchen in birch ply and European walnut with white lacquer, from £30,000, En Masse

MODERN SHAKER

A wooden Shaker kitchen is a timeless classic, but give it a modern edge with black finishes, a marble worktop, vibrant wallpaper and simple open shelving. Ditching wall units opens up the space and let’s you display your personality. Exposed oak Shaker kitchen, doors from £152.40, Naked Doors

Heather bar stool in coral velvet, £119, Cult Furniture

Goodhome Algiata terazzo stone-effect laminate worktop, £88 for 2m, B&Q

Have you seen...

We’ve got a kitchens hu b on realhomes.com, fille d with design advice, trendd s and ideas to make yourr heart of the home the welcoming space it shouuld be. Check it out! Classic fusion square boiling water tap in patina brass, from £1,790, Quooker

A GUIDE TO Rooflights

If you’re extending or converting, a rooflight or lantern brings in light, fresh air and creates a striking structural detail. We look at what’s best for your project

There is beauty in a glass ceiling. A rooflight can bring in light –up to three times as much as a normal window because of its skyfacing orientation. And then there’s the view; of blue skies and gusting clouds, the dapples of leaves from nearby trees, the white confetti of snow, and the unusual angle of your house. There are many styles of rooflights, lanterns and windows and many reasons to have one...or two or three. If you’re looking to the loft to get extra space, a conversion will usually require one or more windows in the roof to bring daylight and ventilation into your new room or suite. In large extensions, a well-placed rooflight can ensure there’s no risk of it feeling dark in the heart of the home, bringing light to every part of your room. When it comes to lighting awkward spaces, a rooflight can overcome it in stunning style. It can send sunlight pouring down into a stairwell if there’s no window in the wall next to it or if it’s in the centre of the home. A modern

SIZE MATTERS

Want a big impact? The Korniche aluminium roof lantern system will make one. Its award-winning modular design for rectangular or square lanterns can go as large 6x4m. Crafted with traditional timber lines and built from modern materials, they are designed to create the strongest and stiffest roof lantern possible – a 6x4m roof lantern can support more than eight tonnes – with minimal structure to obscure your view. The lanterns are made bespoke so price is on application. REALHOMES.COM

PEACE AND QUIET

When rain falls on an upward-facing rooflight, you can ensure your sleep, TV watching or quiet study isn’t disturbed by it with a Velux Integra electric/solar rain noise reduction roof window. Its special three-layers-thick glazing quietens the sound. It also provides high levels of insulation for warmth in winter. It is compatible with Velux Active smart home technology, so windows can be operated via a smart phone or Google Assistant. Prices start from £448, Sterling Build

MAKE A MATCH

If you are including rooflights in a ground floor extension, you’ll want something that looks as good from above as it does below. Klöeber’s fixed flat rooflights have a sleek finish inside and out for maximum daylight. Finished in standard RAL 7016 Anthracite Grey, the aluminium outer frame complements all flat roof finishes, including high performance felt, lead, and zinc. The sealed units can be placed on a separately ordered kerb upstand or a Klöeber insulated kerb upstand. A rooflight of this size (approx 2500x1000mm) would be £1,190 plus VAT. frameless rooflight can add instant drama and create an almost limitless feeling of height, too. If you’ve turned the roof of your extension into a terrace or have a basement extending out into the garden, a walk-on rooflight made from toughened laminated glass (up to five times stronger than conventional glass) is a thrilling way to let the sun shine in.

ENHANCE AN EXTENSION

On the ground floor level, if you are extending outwards, windows and light can be lost to the space that is now in the middle of the house rather than the end, so installing a rooflight is the perfect way to reintroduce that light and direct it to the centre of the room. In a flat roof, a raised roof lantern can create a stunning orangery effect. This architectural element can become the centrepiece of an open-plan space, bringing in both light and heat. On a flat or pitched roof, rooflights are a smart way to introduce natural lighting above task areas where you are preparing meals or eating, such as worktops, islands or the dining table. Flat rooflights are usually available on an upstand that raises them slightly above the level of the roof, or, for a sleeker, less obtrusive look, they can be fitted so they appear flat to it.

IDEAL FOR THE LOFT

A flush roof window is the simplest and most cost-effective style for a loft conversion, compared to a dormer window, as long as there is sufficient headspace to walk around comfortably. They are also a less intrusive addition to the roofline and won’t overlook

SWING SYSTEM

Roof windows (left) are perfect for letting light into rooms in the eaves where the ceiling has a characterful slope. This Keylite Polar roof window can be opened easily and safely thanks to its centre pivot, letting fresh air in top and bottom. They can be operated electrically, for windows installed beyond reach, either with a remote control or a wall-mounted switch. The best-selling product in the range is the PCP T04 Polar White PVC roof window with thermal glazing, size 780x980mm, from £261.53 at Keylite.

FOCUS LIGHT

Installing glazing in an extension roof can draw light where it’s needed – into the centre of a space or onto task areas. Vufold’s most popular seller is a 1x1.5m rooflight with a uPVC thermally efficient core for a U value of just 1.3Wm2K. The aluminium external and internal cappings come in a choice of powder-coated finishes to match your home’s style. Glass picks include low-maintenance solar control options of neutral or tinted blue. The five-degree pitch of its kerb means rain runs off the glass. Made in the UK, the rooflight is priced at £1,059.

EASY CLEANING

Rooflights aren’t easy to access from the outside without a head for heights and safety equipment. Take the worry out of keeping them sparkling with Pilkington Activ self-cleaning glass. It uses the sunshine and rain to naturally break down organic dirt on your windows or glazing. The dualaction self-cleaning coating reacts to daylight to break down the dirt, which is washed off in sheets by rainwater, leaving your glazing cleaner and streak-free. Rooflight price on application. neighbouring properties. Because they face upward, they are flexible when it comes to positioning. For instance, fit a roof window above the bath or shower in the en suite and you can gaze at the sun or stars while using them. One that opens will also help to disperse steam. Roof windows that convert into balconies offer valuable extra space, then return to their flush style when closed. The Velux Cabrio Balcony or the Fakro Balcony Window push out at the bottom to produce side railings with the top half of the window swinging outwards and upwards before locking into position. Be aware that because this could count as a balcony and overlook another home, you should ask your local authority if you need permission to install such a design. When working out how many windows to put in a loft conversion, it is a general rule that the glazing should equal at least 10 per cent of the room’s floorspace, but a generous 15 to 20 per cent should ensure there are no dark and gloomy corners.

MATERIAL CHOICES

Popular materials for rooflights and lanterns include aluminium or steel (frequently required for barn roofs or houses in Conservation Areas), timber (though this can require more maintenance) or a combination of durable aluminium outside and wood

KEEP IN CHARACTER

If your home has a period feel, these roof windows will fit right in. Clement make a range of Conservation rooflights to match tile or slate. Replicas of Victorian originals, they have a flush finish, self-cleaning glass and an A window energy rating from the BFRC (British Fenestration Rating Council). There are eight stock sizes, but they can be made bespoke to suit your project – you just select the size and type of glass you require. They cost from £370 plus VAT.