This Petite Japandi Kitchen Is A Masterclass In How To Balance Style And Function In A Tiny Space
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Adrian and Melanie spent £60,000 on a full kitchen renovation as part of a whole-house makeover in Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex. Their narrow galley kitchen combines oak and plywood, a black-stained finish, a west-facing window and a curved end cupboard; the couple’s design choices are described in Ideal Home’s report.

Adrian and Melanie spent £60,000 renovating the narrow galley kitchen in their Shoreham-by-Sea home, combining oak and plywood details with a dark-stained finish and a newly opened west-facing window. The project, part of a wider whole-house makeover, shows how the couple addressed limited width and storage while pursuing a natural-materials look influenced by Japanese design.

The couple live in the West Sussex home with their two children. When they bought the property, Adrian described its interior as having “strange 1970s architecture” and said it needed substantial work. They considered moving the kitchen to improve the light but ultimately kept the original configuration, opened a window to the west and changed the access.

Adrian sketched design ideas before the couple worked with Wood Works Brighton, a bespoke kitchen company. The narrow galley layout made tall cabinetry difficult to accommodate without further reducing the usable width, he said. The design instead relies on a mix of materials and finishes, including oak, plywood, fluted wood and black-stained oak.

The couple also used details intended to soften or connect the scheme: oak window frames match the cabinets, and a curved door and shelves finish the end cupboard. The leather bar stools came from their previous kitchen. Ideal Home’s report identifies the project’s total cost as £60,000, but does not give a breakdown of that figure.

At a glance
reportWhen: Reported by Ideal Home; project timing…
The developmentIdeal Home has reported on Adrian and Melanie’s £60,000 renovation of a narrow Japandi-style kitchen in their West Sussex home.

Making a Narrow Galley Kitchen Work

The renovation illustrates a practical trade-off common in compact kitchens: adding storage without making a narrow route feel tighter. Adrian said tall cupboards were difficult to fit into the galley layout, so the project’s design had to work within the existing footprint rather than simply adding more cabinetry.

The west-facing window was part of the couple’s response to the home’s light, and Adrian said they felt the extra natural light meant the room could accommodate a darker oak finish. That is the couple’s explanation of their design choice, rather than a measured assessment of the room’s brightness. The project may offer useful ideas to readers considering a small-kitchen renovation, but its £60,000 cost is specific to this home and the wider project details reported.

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A Whole-House Makeover in West Sussex

The kitchen was renovated as part of a whole-house makeover after Adrian and Melanie moved into the seaside property. The report says the couple wanted a brighter, more organic-feeling home and spent time working out whether a different kitchen position would make better use of light. They ultimately retained the existing layout, modifying the window and access instead.

Japandi is commonly used to describe interiors that combine Japanese and Scandinavian influences, though Ideal Home’s report presents the style here through the homeowners’ own preferences: natural materials, mixed textures and Japanese-inspired design. Adrian said Melanie was interested in Japanese style and that the couple liked natural elements. The report does not describe a formal design brief or provide measurements, plans or a full specification for the kitchen.

““The kitchen is quite narrow, and it has a galley layout, so it was hard to fit tall cupboards in without reducing the width.””

— Adrian, as quoted by Ideal Home

Costs, Dimensions and Build Details

Several project details are not provided in the report, including the kitchen’s dimensions, the allocation of the £60,000 budget and whether that total covers only the kitchen or additional parts of the whole-house work. The report also gives no construction timeline, product-by-product costs or information about permits and installation.

The available account is based on the homeowners’ comments and the publication’s project notes. It does not include independent cost verification, measured evidence of how much the window changed the light, or follow-up information on how the kitchen performs in daily use. The report’s description of the result as a distinctive design reflects the couple’s view, not a broader comparison with other kitchens.

No Further Project Update Reported

Ideal Home’s article presents the completed renovation and does not announce a further phase, planned work or follow-up milestone. The couple’s account suggests the immediate next step was living with the finished kitchen as part of their renovated home, but the report provides no later update on its use or any changes made after completion.

Readers seeking to reproduce elements of the design would need further information from the homeowners or kitchen company, particularly measurements, materials specifications and a detailed budget. The reported total should be treated as the cost given for this particular project, not as a general estimate for renovating a small galley kitchen.

Key Questions

Where is the kitchen?

It is in Adrian and Melanie’s home in Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex, where they live with their two children.

How much did the renovation cost?

Ideal Home lists the total project cost as £60,000. The report does not provide a cost breakdown or specify how much of that total was for the kitchen alone.

What changes did the couple make to the layout?

They kept the kitchen in its original configuration, opened a window to the west to bring in more natural light and changed the access. The kitchen remains a narrow galley layout.

Which materials and design details feature in the kitchen?

The reported details include oak, plywood, fluted wood and black-stained oak, along with matching oak window frames and a curved end cupboard. The couple also reused leather bar stools from their previous home.

Who designed or made the kitchen?

Adrian sketched design ideas, and the couple worked with Wood Works Brighton, described in the report as a bespoke kitchen company. No detailed account of the company’s design or installation work is provided.

Source: rss

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