‘My kitchen-diner is fun and funky’

M Y K I T C H E N - D I N E R I S N OW fun and funky!

Design fan Rochelle Dalphinis has used dark paint, gold spray and DIY know-how to transform her bland kitchen into a space to entertain

‘I got rid of the chunky radiator and cover, but I still needed heat, so I went for a wallmounted vertical radiator from Amazon as it takes up much less space. The wall by the seating area was the obvious place to put it, but before I had it installed by a plumber, I sprayed it gold’

A b o u t m e

I’m Rochelle Dalphinis, 35, an equality, diversity and inclusion lead for an architect’s practice. I also own an interiors and gift company, @lunaspotdesign. I live in a two-bedroom semi-detached 1930s house in Dagenham, Essex with my cat, Coco.

T O T A L £776.42

My new-look kitchen has become the go-to destination for friends. They love it!

BEFORE

‘Changing the colour of the units to dark blue has made such a difference and the icing on the cake is the gold handles. It took me four days to do the spraying outside, and and it was so cold I had to move inside, but it was worth it’

M y p r o b l e m k i t c h e n I’ve been here eight years, and I hadn’t really dealt with some of the leftover bits from the previous owners that I never liked. The kitchen units themselves were sound, but there was a huge white cupboard covering an electrics board and a chunky radiator with a cover over it that was stopping the dining area being useable. H o w I m a d e i t w o r k

and radiator gave me the opportunity to create and build a new floor-to-ceiling cupboard myself, as well as putting in bench seating so that more people could sit around the table. M y f a v o u r i t e p a r t The dining area works really well. It feels like a café during the day and a bar at night. The dark paint creates a sense of drama, and the focal point is the pink and gold poster that I designed myself and mounted on MDF.

Istudied interior design as part of my degree and have always enjoyed bringing what I’ve learnt into my own home. I have Champagne taste on lemonade money, and I always look at ways of getting a particular look on a tight budget. With the kitchen, I painted it light grey when I first moved in and put up some wallpaper, but a few years on, I was bored with it and the layout wasn’t working. I wanted some drama.

I was a contestant on the third series of BBC’s Interior Design Masters with Alan Carr, which was shown last March, but filmed the year before. I didn’t win, but I learnt a lot from it, so I decided to tackle the kitchen over my Christmas break last year. I removed all the doors and handles and spray-painted everything out in the garden. You can see a video of my experience on my Instagram @rochelle_dalphinis. My biggest piece of advice is to do it in the summer!

I designed and put in the new cupboard myself, getting all the pieces cut at B&Q to get my own flat pack. I always say I went to the university of YouTube as there’s a video on everything. The only time I used a tradesperson was to put in the new radiator as that was a bit beyond me. I’m very sociable and enjoy entertaining, so my new-look kitchen has become the go-to destination for friends. They love it!

‘I’ve doubled the number of people I can seat easily around the table from two to four by getting rid of a bulky cupboard and designing and making my own. Everything is painted in Valspar’s India Ink, from the walls to the chairs, it’s such a great colour’

style idea A n e o n s i g n b r i n g s i n s t a n t c o l o u r t o a k i t c h e n

‘You can’t go wrong with a cocktail, and my sign from Primark gives a lovely glow in the evenings when the main light is off. The pink neon matches the pinks in the poster I designed and ties in with the cushions’

M y s h o p p i n g l i s t

Kitchen units and walls painted in Valspar’s India Ink Kitchen and Bathroom paint, £19 per 2.5L; cupboard handles painted in Hammerite gold-effect metal paint, £13 per 250ml; radiator painted in Rust-Oleum Bright Gold spray paint, £14 per 400ml, all B&Q. Småstad bench, £28, IKEA. For similar cushions, try the Pink and Red Stripe cushion, £23, Sass & Belle. Pink and Orange seating fabric, £15.50 per m, Prinfab. For a similar table, try the Ringsted Black ash dining table, £199.99, JYSK. For similar chairs, try the Spindle chairs in Navy, £100 for 2, Homebase. For a similar neon sign, try the Cocktails LED neon light box, £49, My Vintage Home. Elegant traditional anthracite radiator, £169.99; for similar candlesticks, try the Topcloud Gold taper candlesticks, £15.96 for a set of 3, both Amazon. Framed A3 Colour Clash Abstract print, £49.99; Luna Gold cutlery, £24.99, both Luna Spot Design. For a similar cocktail shaker, try the Gold Tone cocktail shaker, £11, Argos. Gold charger plates, £4.50 each, Flying Tiger Copenhagen. Sienna Orange wine glasses, £15.99 for a set of 4, The Range. Orange candles, £8.99 for a pack of 2, Homesense.

S CA N M E

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03 02

S t y l e a d v i c e Three simple tricks to try in your own home 0 1 Savvy seating ‘I freed up some space by removing the chunky radiator, so there was room for a comfy seat, which I made myself. I bought a basic bench, painted it, and then added padded cushions on the bottom and back fixed by Velcro so they don’t move. It was simple to get foam padding cut to the right size, and then I designed and had some striped cotton fabric printed off myself, which was surprisingly cheap. The pink and orange stripes match the poster I designed above it and now I can seat four people easily.’

0 2 Match your table setting ‘Take the main accent colours of your scheme and repeat them in your crockery, cutlery and candles. For me, the colours are blue, gold, pink and orange, and I’ve carefully searched for gold-coloured chargers, candlesticks and cutlery. Mix it up with the plates and bowls and go for slightly different colour tones, rather than one set in the same shade – it’s okay to give everyone something slightly different. There’s so much coloured glass out there now, it’s easy to find contemporary glasses in any shade you want.

0 3 Make your own cupboard ‘I designed and built a cupboard to replace a horrible big white one that covered the electric board. I took the measurements to B&Q and constructed it from the pieces they gave me. I didn’t want it to be plain and boring, so I bought wooden dowelling, cut the pieces to the right length and then glued them on side by side to give a moulded effect. I painted the whole thing in the same navy blue I’ve used on the walls and units. I’ve made two separate doors: one side stores electrics and the other cocktail glasses.’