By linking her kitchen to a covered patio on one side and a cosy dining area on the other, designer Tanja Beyers created the ideal space for entertaining.

More like “practical kitchen makeover”: A cottage kitchen makeover

red, black, white kitchen -- practical kitchen makeover -- Garden and Home

“With our growing teenagers, the kitchen was becoming really cramped,” explains Tanja Beyers of Profurn Contracts. “We were desperate for more space, plus we wanted a kitchen that was more entertaining friendly.” When her husband Bruce, who has a home refurbishment business, joined forces with Profurn, they decided it was the right time to renovate.

WHAT THEY DID

To create more space, they extended the kitchen into the garden by a couple of metres. They also moved the wall between the dining room and kitchen out a metre to provide more space for guests. The other wall that had to go was in the middle of the kitchen creating dark corners and restricting traffic flow.

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“With this gone, we were left with a long spacious room,” explains Tanja who worked closely with kitchen designer Kim Broodryk of Three Sixty Designs. Together they chose a combination of oak and ducoed cabinetry with Caesarstone tops. “It’s important to have guidance from a professional who knows how to design a functional space like a kitchen,” she adds.

red, black, white kitchen -- practical kitchen makeover -- Garden and Home

A large central island provides a place for homework and feeding their teenagers and their many friends. The  back to house appliances and screen the sinks. This freed up storage and counter space in the main kitchen.

The garden off the kitchen was turned into a covered outdoor living area connected to the kitchen by stacking glass doors.

THE RESULT

“Now we have all the space we need to cook, eat and entertain without feeling on top of each other,” say Bruce and Tanja. “Being able to open the doors from the kitchen onto the patio has made all the difference.”

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