‘Pink and gold reign in our stylish kitchen’

When we bought this house, it needed a complete renovation, which made my heart sink a little bit as we’d just finished a massive project in our old place. But it meant we could pick our own fixtures and fittings rather than living with other people’s taste, which was a bonus.

The original kitchen only filled a quarter of the space and there was barely any work surface and just two hob rings, so it was ready for a redesign. We scribbled down a few ideas on paper and took them to Howdens who helped us plan the space. We went for an L-shaped design, which allowed the sink to look out to the garden and left plenty of space for an island, top of my wish list, and we replaced the ugly patio doors with stylish floor-to-ceiling bi-folds to let the light flood in. I wanted to add some gentle colour to the room so I chose Howdens' paintable range and went for its light grey cabinets; then I painted the white island in Old Rose by Neptune. I wanted to add more pink to balance the look and stumbled across the fun mermaid tiles, which really complemented the gold accessories I’d started sourcing.

The builder wasted no time ripping everything out and as Artie had started crawling, we went to live with my parents for a few weeks to get out of the madness of living in a building site. Taking on a massive project after just going back to work from maternity leave wasn’t easy but it was worth it. We don’t get to go out so much at the moment because we have a young child, but we’re happy to stay in now that we have this gorgeous new space to enjoy.

‘We replaced the smashed floor tiles with light herringbone as a hard-wearing, durable option, perfect for a busy family kitchen as we like to entertain a lot in here and Artie is starting to run about’ ‘Colin suggested having a quartz worktop and initially I thought it was too big an expense, but now that it’s fitted it looks amazing and worth the investment for the quality’

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

Kitchen including Chelford units in Dove Grey, White island, cooker, hob, sink and extractor, £7,010, Howdens. White quartz worktop, £2,700, Prestige. For similar flooring, try the Home Choice herringbone European Select oak flooring, £54.99 per sq m, UK Flooring Direct. Brushed Gold Hanström 3-in-1 Swan instant boiling water tap, £399, Verana. Scallop pendant in clear glass, £61, Pooky. Gold Siena bar stool, £89 each; for a similar dining table and bench, try the Clifford large dining bench set, £495; round sheepskin seat pad in Ivory, £12, all Dunelm. Asheville Pink Fish Scale wall tiles, £84.92 per sq m, Victorian Plumbing. Ambiano Pink classic stand mixer, £49.99, Aldi. Marble Acacia board, £12.99; Most Wonderful Time LED plaque, £6.99; Grey Mason Cash mixing bowl, £9.99, all The Range.

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S t y l e a d v i c e Three simple tricks to try in your own home 0 1 Glow up your space ‘I love gold in all its forms; whether it’s the jewellery I wear or the accessories around the house, and I knew it would work well as an accent colour in our contemporary kitchen. We started with the cup handles and knobs on the kitchen cabinets and then I spent a lot of late nights browsing online to find the same goldcoloured light fittings, bar stools and a tap that would work to keep the look cohesive. I love the touch of luxe that the metallics add to the functional space.'

02 Have fun with tiles ‘I felt the room needed more pink to tie in with the island and I initially considered painting a wall, but we needed a splashback so I started browsing pink tiles. When I spotted this fish scale design, I knew it was the playful element needed to lift the whole space. Though in hindsight I wish we’d done the whole splashback so we will probably revisit that at some point.’

03 Commission bespoke art ‘We wanted a statement piece of art on this wall to tie in with the rest of the room. We commissioned Jess, @artwithfeelinguk, an artist who creates beautiful but affordable textured art, to make a bespoke work for us. We gave her our colour palette, which she used to create the piece, including the exact shade of pink on the island and the grey of the cabinets, and she added some gold to reflect the accessories in the kitchen. I've continued the colour scheme onto the table setting. It’s been fun choosing more contemporary shades to complement the pink in the kitchen.'