The architects Cato Creative undertook the full-house renovation of a Victorian terrace in South London. The project features vibrant HIMACS surfaces in Banana and Orange to introduce a burst of joyous, cheerful colour. Mark Barratt, Chief Designer of Cato Creative guides us through the approaches to this colourfully eclectic home…

Photography, Chris Snook

Q: What were the priorities in your brief when you started this project?

When we started the conversation with our clients, it was clear that they wanted the kitchen to be a functional, easy to use hub of the household with plenty of vibrant colour involved. With a busy social life and children to consider the new kitchen had to be perfectly functional and serviceable for all occasions, whether it be entertaining family and friends or just a simple breakfast. It was also important that the kitchen space had a good flow with a strong visual link to the garden.

Q: How to did you set about answering that brief?

The priority was to get the functionality right, so we created zoned areas for each kitchen activity and then fine-tuned every cabinet so that all kitchen tasks could be completed without encroachment. The wall of tall cabinets is entirely functional, hiding the refrigerator, pantry and grocery storage, plus a drinks station. We worked on the basis of four priorities – storage, cooking and prep, movement and flow, and socialising. The result is that each area is pretty much self-contained, so activities can be separate but the whole area still flows without creating confusion.

We designed the layout with a spacious HIMACS island and perimeter surfaces – I think that surface space is highly important and enables any kitchen to be used easily and logically.

Q: Was the kitchen space within an existing designated kitchen area or did you have to extend?

The kitchen is just one part of the full extension and refurbishment of this mid-terrace Victorian house. We worked throughout the home, designing extensions at ground floor, first floor and loft levels. The star of the show of the ground floor is the kitchen-dining room, which includes a workspace and is generally the hub of the family home. The kitchen has Crittall-style glazing and skylights, and opens out into the garden. The white walls, clean lines and overall pared back finishes are very intentional, creating a blank canvas, allowing the vibrant colours to take centre stage.

Q: What are the reasons behind the choices of colour, cabinetry and surface materials?

We chose HIMACS for the work surfaces because it allows creative design options that can be incorporated into any décor style. It withstands all the demands of daily use, and because of the colour options we knew it was a purposeful choice to use for the key elements of the kitchen space. We chose Orange for the island unit and Banana for the working wall of units. Our clients wanted a surface material that was inherently hygienic and easy to clean, and from our perspective, a solid surface material that offers sleek seamlessness was an easy choice. Adding to the drama of the HIMACS Banana and Orange work surfaces are the tall painted wooden cabinets which house the pantry, drinks cabinet and refrigeration section. They were hand painted in Mischief by Little Greene and Tropical Palm by Sanderson.

Q: Can you tell us more about your reasons for choosing HIMACS?

We feel that HIMACS is a material that can be used throughout a home, from kitchen to bathroom, cloakroom or shower room, bringing lasting quality and easy liveability to an interior design scheme. We had endless colour choices, there are patterns and stone effects, neutrals and bolds as well as our key colour choices, Banana and Orange. We also used HIMACS in Sapphire, with seamless integrated basins, for the bespoke double unit in the top floor loft extension bathroom.

Q: What storage elements do you think work particularly well?

I’m particularly fond of the drinks/cocktail cabinet. The colours are great, and the pocket door makes it easy to use when guests are around, yet everything is easily hidden away for a quick tidy up. There’s storage at all levels, and the deep drawers in the island work very well indeed, meaning heavy pans are immediately available and don’t have to be fetched from across the kitchen.

Q: How do the colour choices impact on the success of this kitchen?

The colours are bold and unexpected, and these bright choices extend into the rest of the home, which can be seen  here. Each colour used, not just in the kitchen, but throughout, was deliberately and carefully chosen to add personality and vibrancy to the overall design scheme. Each colour, particularly in the kitchen, has a subtly different interaction with the light. This means the shades change throughout the day and throughout each season, creating fascinating effects. We feel that the colours help lift the mood on gloomier days, and emphasise a sense of joy de vivre on sunny days!

Q: What is your advice to anyone who wants to embrace bold colours in their kitchen project?

I strongly feel that colour must be intentional, and one design approach is to allocate a particular colour to a particular element of the project. It’s important that strong colours need to be linked with calm, neutral tones too. We will always consider the available light too, particularly when roof glazing is involved.

 In this transformation, each colour was used to define a zone or function. Orange and Banana are the key colours here. We knew Banana would look particularly good when flooded with light from the skylights above, and the Orange shade was a balance/contrast, perfectly positioned opposite, used for the island. We then designated Mischief (magenta) and Tropical Palm (aquamarine) as a foil to these bright, sunny shades.

Whole-house refurbishment project by architects Cato Creative, 020 8704 0022, E hello@catocreative.com Follow on Instagram @catocreative

Work surfaces in HIMACS in Banana and Orange by LX Hausys

Appliances, Siemens

Fusion boiling water tap, Quooker

Photography, Chris Snook