We love every inch of this compact 14-by-10-foot kitchen in the Peckham neighborhood of London. Designed by architect Jonathan Nicholls and his partner, Alex Randall, a lighting designer, it occupies the rear extension of their Victorian home. While many architects find the experience of designing their own home an existential nightmare, Nicholls found it be quite the opposite:
“As an architect, working on your own house is great fun. Because of time constraints, I didn’t get a chance to do full, proper drawings, so a lot of the time I’d scribble some plans on the wall at night for the builders to interpret a few hours later,” he told The Modern House. “Because it was our own house, I could experiment a lot more with things I wouldn’t risk at work.”
Nowhere is that playful spirit more on display than in their artful kitchen.
Let’s take a tour. (To see the rest of their house, see the listing at The Modern House.)
![when the couple moved in five years ago, the kitchen was on the top of their li 17](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/blenheim-grove-london-kitchen-week-jonathan-nicholls-hayhurst-co-733x489.jpg)
![the cabinets are one of nicholls\2\17; \2\20;experiments.\ 18](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/blenheim-grove-london-kitchen-week-jonathan-nicholls-hayhurst-co-2-733x489.jpg)
![the most whimsical feature in the kitchen, though, may be the skylight that not 19](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/blenheim-grove-london-kitchen-week-jonathan-nicholls-hayhurst-co-3-733x1098.jpg)
![in lieu of upper cabinets, a single wall mounted shelf holding cooking tools an 20](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/blenheim-grove-london-kitchen-week-jonathan-nicholls-hayhurst-co-4-733x489.jpg)
![a stainless steel sink with an integrated draining board. (see the new art gall 21](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/blenheim-grove-london-kitchen-week-jonathan-nicholls-hayhurst-co-5-733x1098.jpg)
![steel and glass doors by crittal usher in even more natural light from the pati 22](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/blenheim-grove-london-kitchen-week-jonathan-nicholls-hayhurst-co-6-733x489.jpg)
![limestone tiles extend from the entrance, down the hallway, and into the kitche 23](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/blenheim-grove-london-kitchen-week-jonathan-nicholls-hayhurst-co-7-733x489.jpg)
![the patio just beyond the kitchen has a surprisingly tropical feel thanks to a 24](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/blenheim-grove-london-kitchen-week-jonathan-nicholls-hayhurst-co-8-733x489.jpg)
For more plywood kitchens, see:
- Steal This Look: A Stylish Camp Kitchen in a Plywood Summer Cabin
- Plykea in London: Stylish Plywood Cabinet Fronts and Worktops for Ikea Kitchens
- Kitchen of the Week: A Cost-Conscious Kitchen in Sweden
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