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Adrian and Melanie renovated a narrow galley kitchen in their Shoreham-by-Sea home as part of a £60,000 whole-house project. Their design combines oak, black-stained wood, a west-facing window and curved cabinetry to address limited space while reflecting their preference for natural materials and Japanese-inspired style.

Adrian and Melanie renovated the narrow galley kitchen in their Shoreham-by-Sea home, pairing oak cabinetry and black-stained wood with a new west-facing window as part of a £60,000 whole-house makeover. The project, reported by Ideal Home, shows how the couple adapted a compact room to their preferred Japanese-inspired style while working around limited width and the need for more natural light.

The couple live in the West Sussex seaside home with their two children. Adrian told Ideal Home that the property had unusual 1970s features and needed extensive work. While they considered where to place the kitchen to make the most of daylight, they ultimately kept its original configuration, opened a window to the west and changed the access.

Because the room is narrow, fitting tall cupboards risked making the galley feel tighter. Adrian said the family worked with Wood Works Brighton, a bespoke kitchen company, after he had sketched ideas. The resulting scheme uses oak and plywood alongside fluted wood and a dark stain, with oak window frames designed to match the cabinetry.

The darker finish was used on the kitchen’s other side. Adrian said the added window gave them confidence that the room could accommodate black-stained oak without losing the light they wanted. A curved end cupboard and shelves soften the cabinetry’s edge, while leather bar stools carried over from the couple’s previous home add another material and a less polished detail.

At a glance
reportWhen: The renovation was completed before the…
The developmentA profile of Adrian and Melanie’s renovated petite Japandi kitchen details how its layout, materials and added window were chosen for a narrow space.

How the Layout Handles a Narrow Room

The renovation’s practical choices are tied to the room’s proportions. Rather than relocating the kitchen, the owners retained the existing arrangement and addressed light and access, while avoiding tall storage that could reduce the usable width. Those decisions matter in a compact galley kitchen, where each cabinet and circulation route can affect how the room feels and functions.

The materials also serve more than a decorative role in the account. Oak, plywood, fluted surfaces and dark-stained cabinetry give different parts of the kitchen distinct character, while the west-facing window and matching frames connect the finishes to daylight. The curved cupboard provides a softer termination at the end of the run. These are design choices reported for this particular home, not evidence that the same solution will suit every small kitchen.

For readers planning a renovation, the project offers a specific example of balancing storage, light and visual variety without changing the kitchen’s basic location. The reported £60,000 cost covers the whole-house project, however, so it should not be read as the price of the kitchen alone.

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A Whole-House Makeover in Shoreham

Adrian and Melanie bought the property intending to remake its interior. Adrian described the existing house to Ideal Home as a doer-upper with unusual 1970s architecture. The kitchen formed one part of that broader renovation, rather than a standalone design project.

The couple’s stated preference for natural materials and Japanese style shaped the kitchen brief. Adrian said they wanted a mix of textures and that the designers understood their vision. He described the finished room as feeling like “three different kitchens at times,” referring to its combination of materials and finishes. The report attributes the project details and design rationale to Adrian; it does not provide independent measurements, a detailed budget breakdown or a construction timeline.

““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, speaking to Ideal Home

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Kitchen-Only Costs and Dimensions

The source gives a £60,000 total for the whole-house renovation, but does not say how much was spent on the kitchen, cabinetry, window work or installation. It also does not provide the room’s dimensions, the precise construction schedule, or a breakdown of the materials and labor costs.

The report describes the kitchen as narrow and says the new window increased natural light, but it gives no measurements or before-and-after light data. The design account is based on the owners’ description; the available information does not establish how the layout performs for other households or whether the renovation involved planning or building approvals.

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No Further Project Milestone Reported

The renovation is presented as a completed project, and the source does not identify a forthcoming construction phase, follow-up announcement or additional milestone. Readers interested in the design can use the report’s details as a case study, but the article does not provide a full specification, kitchen-only budget or plans for future changes.

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Key Questions

Where is the kitchen?

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

How much did the renovation cost?

Ideal Home reports a £60,000 total for the whole-house makeover. It does not give a separate figure for the kitchen.

What changes were made to the kitchen layout?

The owners kept the original kitchen configuration, opened a window to the west and changed the access. The report does not specify the new access arrangement or provide room measurements.

What materials and finishes feature in the design?

The reported scheme combines oak, plywood, fluted wood and black-stained oak. Matching oak window frames, leather bar stools and a curved end cupboard add further details.

Source: rss

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