OWNER Helen Tang
WHERE Barnet, Hertfordshire
BUDGET £17,000 to £20,000
DESIGNER Scottwood of Nottingham

THE BRIEF
To make the most of a small and awkwardly shaped kitchen.

DESIGN TIP
“Never let corner cupboards go to waste. There is a wealth of 'magic' corner mechanisms on the market now that allow access to even the furthest, darkest corner,” says John Leighton of Scottwood of Nottingham.

Structural pillars dictate the shape and size of the kitchen in Helen Tang's converted pump house. To get round its awkward proportions, she called on John Leighton of Scottwood of Nottingham. “Standard cupboards are 580 mm deep, making some areas hard to reach,” says John. “By replacing cupboards with drawers, you can bring the contents of the drawers out into the open and use all the space, even at the back, an area that often goes to waste.” Endless drawer fronts can look fussy, however, so John chose internal systems, hidden behind Shaker-style cupboard doors from Scottwood's Pimlico range.

To tailor the storage to Helen's needs, each drawer had a designated role and was fitted with plate racks, pan dividers and compartments. A large American-style fridge-freezer contains the groceries, as do pull-out larder units on either side, which John broke down into smaller drawers for ease of use. He also created narrow storage around the two pillars for small items such as spice jars and wine glasses, and added a mobile butcher's trolley to provide an extra work surface and storage for Helen's bakeware. “This room is smaller than Helen's previous kitchen, but the attention to detail in the storage has made it so much more efficient,” says John.

SOURCEBOOK
Design and manufacture, Scottwood of Nottingham, (0115) 977 0877; www.scottwood.co.uk.
Internal storage systems, Blum, (01908) 285700; www.blum.co.uk.
Oven, Neff, 0870 513 3090; www.neff.co.uk.
Tap, Franke, (0161) 436 6280; www.franke.co.uk.
Worktops, Sheridan, 0870 220 6301; www.sheridan-uk.com.

WORDS LINDA GRABHAM
SEPTEMBER 2006