Team KBB

Tour this L-shaped kitchen with a statement stone island

Posted on 16th October 2025

Gentle tones and considered details create a serene house for Caitlin McCann and Bradley Ridge, and their family…

Looking for a larger home, Caitlin McCann and Bradley Ridge came across a two-storey, five-bedroom house, built in the 1920s, in an ideal, quiet location. But even the estate agent was astonished that they wanted to view the property, considering its dilapidated condition, including condemned electrics and a wildly overgrown garden.

“The house hadn’t been renovated since the 1950s and was in a very sorry state,” Caitlin tells KBB journo Amelia Thorpe, “but that was actually music to our ears, since we both enjoy refurbishment projects which give us the opportunity to put our own stamp on a house.”

L-shaped kitchen design with tall cabinetry, stone surfaces, a stone island, and sleek handles. — Westin’s flush-fitted ceiling Stratus Air extractor is finished to match the ceiling colour, almost disappearing from view. Photography: Nick Smith.

With 11-year-old daughter Bay in mind, interior designer Caitlin, and Bradley, who works in the art world, saw the opportunity to create a spacious family home. “We started sketching out ideas on scraps of paper after our first visit,” says Caitlin. “The kitchen was a tiny, dark room to one side of the house, facing a brick wall; we knew that creating a larger, more family-friendly, and sociable space would be a key priority.”

The plans for the house renovation

While keeping the original bay windows and front of the house intact, the couple worked with Yard Architects to draw up plans to take off the back, side and roof. “Our aim was to completely re-build the house to reflect our lifestyle,” explains Caitlin.

The result? Now the house has six bedrooms and three bathrooms spread across three floors, with the new kitchen occupying a generously-sized area in the extension to the rear, complete with open-plan dining zone and adjacent living area.

View of the home with three floors and a connection to the garden. — The new kitchen sits in the spacious area of the rear extension.

The kitchen design

For Caitlin, it was a natural decision to return to kitchen specialist, Halcyon, when it came to the cabinetry. “I had worked with the Halcyon team on a project for a client,” she explains. “I knew the excellent quality of their work and that they could produce a specific detail that was important to us.”

View of the L-shaped cabinetry painted in a neutral tone with a central stone island and built-in appliances. — The working zone of the L-shaped kitchen is designed so that hob, sink, ovens, and integrated fridge (at the end of the sink run) are in easy reach of each other. Ovens and fridge, Fisher & Paykel.

View of the cooking zone with a gas hob and a sink area, looking into a sitting room. — The fumed and white oiled oak floor from Pietra Wood & Stone works well with the overall palette. Fusion Round boiling water tap with Cube water unit, Quooker.

With an L-shaped kitchen layout and central island in mind, Caitlin was keen to avoid a standard end panel glued on to the last cupboard of the run. “I wanted the end cupboard door to have a mitred edge, which creates a neater, more elegant corner. It might seem like a small detail, but it was the starting point for the calm, contemporary, and considered design I was after.”

Closeup at the breakfast bar with small appliances and crockery, which can be concealed behind pocket doors. — Tall, streamlined and symmetrical cabinetry in matt lacquer, coloured to match the walls, creates a soft, neutral backdrop to L-shaped kitchen, providing maximum storage and housing appliances.

The island

The centrepiece island in Venaria Reale honed quartzite serves as the room’s focal point. “The stone is figured with a whole range of colours, from gentle greys and pinks through to darker charcoals and browns,” says Caitlin. “It has masses of natural beauty and warmth, without being loud.”

A neutral L-shaped kitchen design with floor-to-ceiling cabinetry, stone surfaces, a central island with a breakfast bar and compact pendants above the unit. — The bespoke matt lacquer L-shaped kitchen by Halcyon is coloured in a similar tone to the walls (Paint & Paper Library’s Slate III), with a Venaria Reale honed quartzite island, also by Halcyon. Nabila pendant lights, Tooy, hi-pi bar stools in Ebonised Oak, Par-Avion Co.

Graham Robinson, design manager at Halcyon, adds, “The island is constructed to appear as if it were carved from a single block of stone, giving it a monolithic appearance that adds to the quiet luxury of the room.” Its countertop is as thick as the shelf above the sink, which runs through into the breakfast cupboard. “Another subtly elegant detail,” notes Graham.

An open shelf made from the same stone as the splashback with white crockery on display. — The splashback is topped with a shelf to define the area and offer space for displays.

A sink ares with edges crafted from the same stone as the worktop, with a gunmetal tap and minimalist decor. — The Axixuno 700U QG undermounted sink in Gunmetal from The 1810 Company is designed so that the stone slots into its side ridges for a leakproof finish.

The details

The oiled oak floor and bronze accents, from handles to tap fittings, bring in warmth and interest, while paintings and prints add character. “The room feels modern, but not sharp,” says Caitlin. “We knew from the start that the project would be worthwhile, but the result is even better than we imagined.