This Brighton, England, home is a rare thing in the city — a centrally located detached house, rich in history and with a beautiful garden. Built around 1840, it has Grade II listed status and sits within a historic preservation area. Consequently, any work on it would be subject to strict planning regulations and, in addition, its owners were committed to making any improvements both sympathetic to the building and environmentally responsible.
To get a feel for this special home, they lived in it for a couple of years before calling in interior designer Clare Topham to gently refresh it. She worked on various rooms, updating the heating, decor and lighting, but the kitchen posed perhaps the biggest challenge. “It was a dinky little room,” Topham says. “[The owners] knew they wanted to extend, but didn’t want it much bigger. They only wanted to build what they needed for the two of them. They were never going to whack a modernist extension on the back.”
The owners are really happy with their finished kitchen, which respects their home’s heritage but is outfitted with the latest energy-efficient appliances. Read on to see the newly extended space.
