Woman in a grey slab kitchen with a peninsular design, standing next to a breakfast bar with a white marble quartz worktop.

Kitchen Makeovers

A Grey Kitchen Makeover With Beth

Multi-award winning blogger, Beth Sandland, wanted a grey kitchen makeover that reflected her personality, while offering better functionality for work and play. Explore how Howdens helped Beth and her trade professional to create a stylish and practical design that made the most of her compact space.

Caucasian women with blonde wavy hair, wearing a blush pink blouse

About Beth

Blogger, photographer, and world-traveller, Beth has found home in a leafy part of South London, where she lives with her fiancé. A lover of open-plan living, the couple are currently renovating their 1960’s flat, so it supports their work-at-home jobs and suits their family life.

See more @bethsandland

The transformation

Cramped and cluttered

Beth's old design had limited storage, offering few cupboards to store essentials like pots and pans out of sight. This meant the room always looked untidy and cluttered, which is something she wanted to change in her new scheme. There was also little space for entertaining and dining, so hosting family meals was difficult.

Grey slab kitchen with white quartz worktop, brass handles, and breakfast bar

Modern and minimal

By taking down the dividing wall between the cooking and living area, Beth has achieved the open layout she always wanted. Her Hockley Matt cupboards in dove grey have a modern look, while her peninsula design adds extra space to store less-frequently used items. It also offers a casual place to entertain guests.

Explore Hockley Matt Dove Grey

The design details

White quartz breakfast bar with a waterfall design in a grey kitchen

An area for breakfast

Beth’s new breakfast area means she now has a handy place to eat, work, and spend time with friends. By placing this unit horizontally across the space, Beth has cleverly created a divide between the cooking space and the living room, which helps to separate the zones while maintaining that open-plan feel.

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Larder tower in a grey kitchen with shelving and four drawers at the bottom.

A full-height larder

Having enough storage to hide away clutter was important to Beth, which is why she opted for a full-height larder. This means she can tuck freestanding equipment, like her microwave, out of sight. Beth also opted for drawers at the bottom, so she can store cutlery and crockery within easy reach.

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Grey corner pull-out accessory with two shelves. Chevron flooring and white marble worktop.

Corner accessories

Wanting to maximise every inch of space in her layout, Beth chose to include corner accessories in her design. Featuring two, non-slip shelves and a pull-out mechanism, this device ensures Beth can organise all her items easily while improving access to those hard-to-reach areas at the back.

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Beth Sandland

“The corner accessories are brilliant, as they offer lots of storage without making everything look cramped. They also pull right out of the cupboard, which makes reaching items at the back super simple.”

Working with Howdens

Finding a fitter

Beth has been using her trade professional, Tim, for years on other projects, so he was the obvious choice for installing her new design. Tim has also worked with Howdens before and was pleased with the reliable service. For help on finding a tradesperson in your area, contact your local depot.

Find a depot

Product choice

With the rest of her property styled with modern features, Beth wanted to find a contemporary design for her scheme to create a cohesive look. She was drawn to our Hockley Matt doors, which offered a soft and minimal look that was in keeping with the rest of her home.

Explore Hockley Matt kitchens

Installation

Having an experienced trade professional on board gave Beth the peace of mind that her new design would be fitted to the highest standard. Tim’s long-standing relationship with Howdens meant he was able to manage the whole installation process and deal with any concerns directly with the depot.

Get Beth's look

White marble quartz worktop on a breakfast bar with brown bar stools

Marble counters

Wanting to keep to a pared-back palette, Beth invested in a white quartz counter with a subtle marble pattern. Offering both longevity and luxe appeal, Beth also used this surface to create a striking waterfall design for added wow factor.

See Quartz worktops

Brushed brass knob handles on super matt grey door

Brass knobs

To add warmth to her cool-toned cabinetry, Beth opted for brushed-brass handgrips, which have a gold-like colour for a high-end feel. They also have a simple, curved design, which keeps her scheme looking refined and sophisticated.

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Ceramic Belfast single bowl sink with brass tap, white marble worktop and sunflowers

Ceramic sink-bowl

Having a large Belfast bowl, which she could fill with flowers, was something Beth always wanted. Her ceramic basin has a white tone that blends in with her counters for a continuous look. It also offers a hygienic surface that makes cleaning easy.

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Brushed brass kitchen tap with a curved spout and single lever design

Brass tap

To create a statement washing area, Beth decided to go for a brass faucet. The rich tone pops against the pale cupboard doors and works well with other luxe features in the space. It also co-ordinates with the handgrips to create a premium, co-ordinated effect.

See Brass tap

Beth Sandland

“The local service that Howdens offered was one of the best parts about working with them. It was personal and if there was anything I needed changing or picking up, they were just a few minutes away.”