North London isn’t the first place you’d expect to find a tropical-inflected kitchen, but rather than stand out in garish contrast to gloomy London, architects Simon Astridge went for a softer effect by blending inspirations from Mexican architecture to pastel Victorian brick. Their first order was to bring in the light (mainly with skylights) and color (with plaster and paint) to brighten the interior and bring the outdoors in. Here’s our list of sources to re-create the look, no matter your location.
Above: The architects designed the kitchen with green spray-painted MDF: “It’s less expensive than laminate and doesn’t have that plasticky finish,” they say. The countertop is made by bespoke concrete specialists Warrington & Rose. Photograph by Nicholas Worley, courtesy of Simon Astridge Architecture Workshop. Above: The idea for the painted recess was to “bring the green from outside in.” Photograph by Nicholas Worley, courtesy of Simon Astridge Architecture Workshop. Above: Another dose of color beyond the paint palette comes from the grouping of woven recycled plastic lamps over the dining table. Photograph by Nicholas Worley, courtesy of Simon Astridge Architecture Workshop.
Paint
Above: A close match to the green spray paint color used on the birch plywood recess and MDF cabinets is Little Greene’s Pea Green. Also similar are Little Greene’s Aquamarine and the deeper avocado green of Farrow & Ball’s Yeabridge Green Above: “The plaster we use comes in a pink tone, then it usually gets skimmed and painted. But when we saw the work in progress, we all fell in love with the depth and color, so it was easy to convince our clients to leave it exposed,” says Dumciute. For a similar pink construction plaster, see China Clay from Little Greene or Farrow & Ball’s Pink Ground, which is darker and more blush. Above: The window frames and door are painted pale gray. Little Greene’s Gauze Mid has a similar purplish tone and lightness.
Above: Most of the appliances are integrated into the green-painted MDF cabinets—all are from Siemens. Shown here are two Siemens Built-In Single Ovens for £699 each at John Lewis.
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