Customer stories
Before & After
Jerry’s Kitchen Transformation: A Clive Christian kitchen perfect for a listed period property…
Since retiring, Jerry and his wife have taken on the mother of all renovation projects: A grade 2* listed building in serious need of some TLC. A long farmhouse divided into two sections, the couple had known of this property for many years before buying, and it is a well-known and loved part of the village they have lived in for 30 years. Taking it on was a big task and definitely not for the faint of heart, but with the help of Rehome, and some savvy renovation decisions, they were able to transform their new kitchen into the luxury and opulent space that this building deserves…
The house they moved into is made up of two sections- one an 1824 Georgian house that, whilst it needed some cosmetic work and redecoration, was mainly fine. The other section of the building was more of a worry to Jerry, with it being a Medieval home originally built in 1486. As you can imagine, this section of the building was in desperate need of some serious conservation work, with an array of issues including parts of the ceiling falling down… When the pair moved in, the kitchen resided in the Medieval section of the home, which unsurprisingly was a concern for them- the most used room in the home isn’t something you would want to place in the most structurally unsound area of the building. They wanted the heart of their home to be in the Georgian section and set about renovating this as a priority. And so began their journey with both Rehome and with the heritage officers (Spoiler alert: one journey was much less hassle than the other!).
The Kitchen Jerry and his wife purchased from Rehome outlet.
To move the kitchen to the other side of the house required permission from the local authority Heritage officers, whose main job is the protection of buildings that maintain historical value to an area or town. The first step for them, before even beginning to think about shopping for new kitchens, was to ensure they could use the space in the way that they wanted to. This involved filling in a lengthy application form to the heritage officers, a form that took Jerry 2 months and 30 pages of work to complete. Of course, this is the price you have to pay for living in a listed building, but this work set the kitchen renovation back significantly, 18 months to be exact.
Once the permissions from the heritage officers eventually came through, and some much-needed internal work was done on the house, their journey with Rehome could begin. Rehome had been recommended to them, and with the amount of renovation work they had already done, the remainder of the renovation budget was a little lower than they had originally planned for, so it seemed like the perfect choice for them. Their search for a kitchen that would suit the interior of the house was slightly difficult in the beginning, because the pair had a very specific idea of what it was they wanted- a grand Clive Christian kitchen that would elevate their space and complement the opulent exterior of the property. Clive Christian is one of the most highly sought-after kitchen brands that Rehome sell, so much so that they rarely stay on our website for longer than a day or two before selling.
Already running behind timeframe, the pair were starting to realise that there is only so long you can go without the use of a fully functioning kitchen and felt that maybe it was time to give up on their dream of purchasing a luxury kitchen that matched their dream interior.
That was until a fateful kitchen alert notification led them to a remodelled Clive Christian kitchen. When they initially started searching our website, their hearts were set on a traditional Clive Christian kitchen in a traditional colourway to match. It was only when they realised that kitchens could be repainted and tailored in a number of different ways that they broadened their horizons and became open to other options.
The raised and fielded kitchen they were notified about started to seem perfect for them, and as you can probably tell by now, the pair aren’t afraid of a ‘doer-upper’. Whilst the kitchen had been adapted to suit its previous owners, original Clive Christian elements remained. With chunky detailed pilasters, beaded doors and in frame cabinetry, the kitchen oozed luxury throughout all of its features. The kitchen was listed on our website for only £6,499, and after a few simple measurements of their space, the kitchen was theirs.
Jerry and his wife weren’t quite ready for the kitchen to go in their space just yet, as their planning permission held them back by a few months. This is often the case for many buyers but buying pre-loved or ex-display through Rehome offers so many savings that it becomes more cost effective to buy the kitchen you love and store it until you are ready. Even with the added cost to store you will still be saving hundreds if not thousands of pounds compared to high street price. Jerry said how ‘It was really useful to have the kitchen in storage for some months before we needed it fitted, because this allowed us to order paint samples and shop around for different hardware without strict time constraints.’. Whilst their kitchen was stored Jerry was not only able to plan the aesthetic touch ups, but also create a comprehensive plan of the kitchen’s installation, including pipe work, plumbing and the electric- all whilst juggling further planning permission paperwork (we salute you, Jerry!) …
By the time the pair were ready for the kitchen to be fitted into their space, they had gone through about 80 different layout variations of the kitchen before deciding on the one that suited them and the space best. The most common question we are asked here at Rehome is ‘How will the kitchen fit in my space?’ and we give the same answer every time- however you want it to! The kitchens that we sell, whether ex-display or used, are effectively just boxes in a row and can be reconfigured into any order or layout to suit your space or needs. As we recommend to all of our buyers, Jerry bought a kitchen that was roughly 10-20% bigger than what he needed, and this afforded him some wiggle room in where he could place certain units in order to account for things like end panels. Whilst not necessary, this is a really good choice as any leftover units can be utilised elsewhere in your renovation like for a utility room, or alternatively can be resold on sites like Gumtree, eBay or Facebook Marketplace. Jerry plans to use the extra units from his kitchen reconfiguration to create an outdoor kitchen space complete with a barbeque and pizza oven, an idea that we love, even if the British Summertime doesn’t…
Jerry found the reconfiguration process really easy and encourages everyone to keep an open mind when buying pre-loved- ‘don’t get too caught up in the shape or style of the kitchen, as these can all be changed’- and this is exactly what they did. The kitchen was repainted by a local man in the village in Farrow & Ball’s ‘School House White’, bringing back a freshness to the kitchen that made it look brand new. Bright white was contrasted with brass handles that they sourced online from a British company. Brass and white will always be an elegant choice for any space, adding a modern and stylish twist on a traditional design.
Their simple décor additions create a timeless space that can be enjoyed for years to come and achieves the goal they set out to create a kitchen as opulent as the house itself. We’re sure Jerry would agree that the months of work he put into the renovation of the whole home was worth it, and that his experience with Rehome made the whole thing just that little bit easier…
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