The renovation of a Victorian home in Berkshire, UK, transforms the kitchen – designed by Delve Architects, using Plykea – into a family-focused haven. With a spacious living design, the kitchen shows Arpa® Bloom Verde Pino for the cabinetry and Rosa Bourbon for the island’s fronts and doors, enhancing both the project’s sustainability and compelling use of colour.
Overlooking the garden from large windows, a luminous open space blends the kitchen with a full-wood living area with bookcase and dining table underneath a raftered ceiling. This combination of different tones and materials emphasises the kitchen lively design that beautifully fits with the surrounding nature.
Plykea tells how a space of conviviality and functionality was created.
How does the kitchen design blend the charm of a Victorian architecture with a contemporary, functional aesthetic?
This kitchen transformation is part of a larger architectural vision to reconfigure the home for long-term family living. The design respects the original Victorian character of the home while introducing modern elements that enhance the functionality and flow of the home – merging the kitchen and dining area to create a seamless living space. The result is a kitchen that feels both timeless and tailored for modern family life.
The open space project places the kitchen among a full-wood dining area and the garden outside the windows. How do these three environments – the kitchen, the dining room and the garden – harmoniously coexist?
Merging the kitchen, dining area, and garden was central to the redesign, ensuring a seamless connection between cooking, eating, and outdoor living. The dining space, with its natural wood finishes, acts as a warm transition between the contemporary kitchen and the garden visible through expansive glass windows. This connection allows natural light to flood the space, making the kitchen feel more open and inviting, while the island serves as the social hub, encouraging interaction across all three areas.
The kitchen island enhances the conviviality of the space. How does the selection of the materials support this sense of family haven?
The island is the heart of the kitchen, designed to encourage interaction and connection. Its generous size and downward extraction hob ensure that cooking is an engaging activity rather than a segregated task, making the island a multi-functional space for family life.
Why were Arpa Bloom Verde Pino and Rosa Bourbon chosen?
The material colours – Arpa Bloom in Verde Pino and Rosa Bourbon – were chosen to create a balance of rich colour and warmth, adding a modern yet inviting feel to the space. The deep green of Verde Pino creates a grounding presence, subtly echoing the greenery of the garden, while softer Rosa Bourbon adds a touch of warmth and playfulness. Together, these tones bring depth and character to the space while maintaining a cohesive and modern aesthetic.
Bloom technology significantly increases the use of natural raw materials in the core of Arpa surfaces. Is this sustainable choice aligned with your design philosophy?
Sustainability is an essential part of our design approach, and Arpa Bloom’s use of lignin, a natural polymer found in timber and a waste product from the paper industry, aligns perfectly with this philosophy. We create kitchens that are as thoughtful in their environmental impact as they are in their design.
Plykea was founded by two friends who set out to solve a problem—finding high-quality, reasonably priced plywood kitchen fronts. What started as a personal project quickly grew into a trusted brand for homeowners and professionals looking to create bespoke kitchens with ease, quality, and style. Specialising in fronts, panels, and worktops, Plykea is designed to pair seamlessly with IKEA’s kitchen cabinets and wardrobe systems. With over 240 colours and finishes, Plykea offers a broad design possibilities—from the warmth of natural wood veneers to the innovative surfaces of FENIX® and Arpa® Bloom, as well as the bold, vibrant hues of Formica® Laminate brights.
