Essential Kitchen Bathroom Bedroom Magazine July 2015 Back Issue

Glass-roofed rear kitchen extensions
have become so second nature to us
now that it seems almost impossible
to imagine a time when living in an
open-plan garden-focused kitchen,
wasn’t the standard. But as anyone in a
pre-1990s house will know, the light-
filled and spacious architect-designed
ideal of recent years is a relatively recent
phenomenon. In fact, kitchens used to be
located most often in the darkest and
dingiest parts of the house, with separate
dining, utility and scullery rooms and
sometimes even with a hatch between a
galley and dining area where the mother
(or maid) would deliver the plates.
Fast-forward to now and you can’t walk down a residential London street without passing at least three skips. What was interesting in researching our Make Space feature (page 70) on kitchen extensions however, was the feeling that there’s a return to intimate areas, as well as a movement towards sub-dividing kitchen spaces for functionality again, albeit in the most urbane and sophisticated of ways. After the kitchen one of the most functional zones of your house, and the area that takes most of your planning time as well as spend, has got to be your bathrooms. Whether you like sleek and modern or rustic and country, read how to conceive that perfect en suite or guest bathroom in Small Wonder (page 116) and shop for vanity units on page 108. Meanwhile, isn’t it refreshing sometimes to step away from the swatch of perfectly selected moody greys and let your imagination run a bit wild? In summer I think we can all relax a little bit more with our interiors perfection, which is why it’s the perfect time to get creative with planning a kid’s room revamp. I loved poring over the images and shopping ideas that assistant editor Emma Foale picked out in Young at Heart on page 132. Think fun, imaginative and a little bit quirky; these could, in fact,
be our new decorating catchphrases for the summer.