A thoughtfully designed side extension has dramatically boosted the light and space in this characterful green kitchen. Fancy a tour?
When they bought their Victorian terraced house more than a decade ago, Alison and Dan Patton agreed that the empty side return to the rear of the property was rather a waste of space. “We always thought we might make use of it one day,” Alison tells KBB journo Amelia Thorpe. “It took us ten years to get around to building a side extension, but it’s been worth the wait – we are delighted with the result.”
The plans
Alison, who is retired, and software developer husband Dan began the extension project to create a larger, wider kitchen to share with their two children, Eliza, 14, and Evan, 11. The old kitchen on the ground floor of their three-storey house was long and narrow, culminating in bi-fold doors to the garden, which were long past their best. “The room was draughty and cold, with a layout that didn’t make sense,” she explains, “plus the units were buckling under the weight of chipped concrete worktops – we knew the whole space badly needed a refresh.”
They contacted architect Ed Ward, director of local firm Studio Werc, after finding the practice’s portfolio online. “We invited Ed to come over, got on well and immediately liked his ideas,” recalls Alison. “The fact that he has plenty of experience of achieving planning permission for extensions in the local area was an added bonus.”
The side extension
Ed’s design for the extension included building over the side return with a section of pitched roof and four roof lights, with new glazed timber doors to the garden. “The result is a much larger room, flooded with natural light,” says Ed, who also designed a new walkway from the kitchen into the living room at the front of the house to create an improved sense of flow between the rooms on the ground floor.
“As Alison loves growing plants, we gave the extension a courtyard feel with a rustic, handmade terracotta floor, so it becomes a transition between the traditional front room with its original period features and the garden outside,” adds Ed, who drew up an initial layout for the kitchen furniture, to serve as a basis for the couple’s discussions with kitchen suppliers.
Designing the rustic green kitchen
With plans in hand, Alison and Dan visited Devol’s showroom in London’s Clerkenwell. “I’ve always loved their timeless, beautifully made furniture, so we decided to invest in the kitchen of our dreams,” says Alison, who selected classic Shaker-style furniture for the room, painted in a soft green to echo the colours of the garden.
A wooden Devol Dairy table forms the centrepiece of the design and the main preparation area in the room, specifically chosen to suit Alison’s love of cooking and Eliza’s passion for baking. “The table looks lighter than a typical island,” she says, “and here it seems to sit more comfortably with the age of the house and the mood of the room.”
The details
Other pieces, such as a glazed wall cabinet and a vintage cupboard, provide plenty of practical storage and serve to accentuate the ‘unfitted’ feel of the design. “I want the room to feel warm and full of character,” explains Alison, who also selected vintage lighting fixtures and mid-century dining chairs to complete the eclectic character of the space.
While the room celebrates heritage style, it also features plenty of modern solutions, including electrical sockets in the Dairy table to make it easy to plug in a mixer and blender, a range cooker with powerful extractor concealed in a bespoke hood, and family-size integrated appliances. “It is a space that feels warm and inviting, and works so well for socialising and for our family life,” says Alison.
Photography: Chris Snook
This house tour was featured in the February 2026 issue of Kitchens Bedrooms & Bathrooms magazine.
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