Customer name: Still
Location: Inverurie
After living in their new build home for a number of years, Steven and Sarah Still came to Laings in need of a refresh to their kitchen-dining-living space. This wasn’t the couple’s first interaction with Laings however, the developer behind their home had installed a Laings kitchen when they moved in.
After a few years in their home, they felt it was time for a revamped kitchen that reflected their style and lifestyle. And for them, creating a sociable kitchen space was key to provide a perfect setting for their regular entertaining. They were drawn to kitchen designs that were rich in dark and moody tones and were keen for their new space to exude sophistication. Aside from creating a space with plenty of scope for hosting the couple’s parties and a dark contemporary colour scheme, the brief was open for Senior Kitchen and Bedroom Designer Fiona Thompson to reinvigorate the space.
The Stills wanted to create that ‘wow factor’ and were focussed on pulling out all the stops to get the overall look and appliances they desired. The layout brought its challenges to the project. The couple had a sizeable fridge freezer and wine cooler which they wished to remain in the new design. This caused some limitations with the redesign, however, where space may have been limited, creative solution-finding was far from short.
During the design process, it was suggested to swap the living and dining areas to create a cosier TV snug area around the corner, and a more sociable dining/bar area straight off the main kitchen. This allowed plenty of scope to meet the clients entertaining needs, plus it opened up the whole room, giving a better flow throughout.
The Stills loved the island in their original kitchen but longed for an island with seating. With desires to create a more sociable space, they were also conscious that the addition of seating may eat up valuable floor and storage space. Fiona’s solution was to add seating at the foot of the island rather than along its longest axis. Adding a circular marble effect table top created a bar-like area which helped add seating with a comfortable amount of legroom whilst not losing any vital storage space.
After the Stills’ initial visit to the showroom and consultation, Fiona visited their home to see the space and take some measurements. A few weeks later, Sarah and Steven returned to review their initial design.
Fiona shares: “After my visit, I came back to the showroom and pulled together my design concept, a mood board of various different colours and textures to help them visualise their new space, and I also worked up some initial costs. A few weeks later, they returned and fell in love with the concept.
“Then it was just the case of a few changes here and there and the installation booked in to take place shortly after. The process was nice and straightforward and I think with Sarah and Steven’s knowledge of us already and knowing about our quality output really helped the process. They had full trust in the team and were happy to take my recommendations.”
The Stills were impressed by the plans for their kitchen redesign but what exceeded their expectations was the high-spec range of appliances available to them. In their initial discussions, they highlighted that they had their eyes on the latest appliance releases from Siemens.
“They asked about the newly launched iQ700 StudioLine range before it was even on display in our showroom and when I said that it wouldn’t be an issue to include these exclusive products in the installation, they were blown away” Fiona details.
The open brief with minimal constraints gave Fiona creative freedom to pull out all the stops for her clients and the project provided the opportunity to include some interior choices she’d been keen to implement.
“I added a drinks bar display behind the dining area which I felt was just calling out for a statement wall tile and I had the perfect one in mind for this redesign. The metallic silver tile I used for the project I had actually spotted a while back and saved it for use in a future project as it was a bit out there. I was conscious to only use it for the right project, and this was definitely the one - it just worked perfectly with the bold colour scheme.
“It was an option they probably wouldn’t have went for, but when they said they wanted the colour scheme to be grey and dark tones, I couldn’t stop thinking about this tile. I was delighted that I could use it in this project and that felt even better once it was all installed and the clients loved it.”
The success of this project is testament to Fiona’s customer care and overall understanding of client needs and desires. This coupled with her creative flair and attention to detail, the key blocks were most certainly in place for a seamless kitchen redesign and client collaboration.
If a kitchen redesign project is on the cards for your home, get in touch to arrange your free consultation.
