Simon’s Blackheath Kitchen

Name: Victoria Kitchens
Price range: $$

Blackheath, London, SE3

September, 2025

Outline

Simon had lived in his Blackheath house for a while, but the kitchen had never been his. It was a grey high-gloss layout left by the previous owners, with handled units and a busy mosaic splashback, dark in the corners and dated in feel. He had wanted to replace it for some time: something bespoke, designed around how he actually lived and built to last, with far more storage than the room looked capable of holding.

We designed and installed a Caledonia Classic Kintyre kitchen, ash painted in Farrow and Ball No 30 Hague Blue with Blizzard White wall units, set over Stone Sense Essence Range quartz worktops and finished with a Quooker boiling-water tap in copper. The kitchen formed part of a full room restoration completed in September, 2025.

The Vision

Simon had owned his house for a while before deciding to tackle the kitchen. The scheme he had inherited was a cold, grey high-gloss layout that had never felt like his own, and when he finally started, he wanted to start properly: a bespoke kitchen designed around the way he used the space, warmer in tone, and with much more storage than the room first appeared to offer.

Bernard handled the early conversations and a showroom visit, where Simon could see the ranges and finishes in person and talk options through. The project was never going to be a simple swap. The floor needed replacing, a new wall had to be built, and the room required a full rewire, new plumbing, new lighting and a relocated radiator before any cabinetry could go in.

The 3D Blueprint

Bernard, our Senior Designer, shaped the room into a U around three walls. A 2.12-metre window run holds the sink; two returns of around 2.68 metres each carry the rest, all in Stone Sense quartz with a 200mm upstand.

The window run pairs a Caple undermount sink with a Quooker copper tap. One return is the cooking zone, built around a Neff venting hob that recirculates downward, so nothing hangs overhead. A tall column stacks a Bosch combination microwave over a Bosch oven, with the fridge-freezer, dishwasher and laundry tucked behind matching doors.

The best storage here is the kind you don’t see: a corner pull-out, a glazed display unit, the boiler boxed into a wall cabinet. Simon’s vintage fireplace was folded in to anchor the room.

The Handover

This was a full restoration rather than a straight kitchen swap. Stefan, Vanya and Ruslan stripped the room back, laid a new floor, built a new wall, and reworked the wiring, plumbing, lighting and radiator before any cabinetry went in.

The project ran across roughly a month, and the small challenges that came up on site were handled without fuss, with the cabinetry and Stone Sense worktops fitted to a clean finish by handover.

The finished space

Feedback

What Simon had to say...

From start to finish, the experience with Victoria Kitchens was fantastic. The company has a real family feel, they've been working together for many years now and you can tell they genuinely care about the results and keeping their customers happy. I'm so glad I chose a more independent company; the difference in personal service really shows.

The design process with Bernard was excellent. I've ended up with more space and storage than I ever thought possible. There were many options but thanks to his guidance, I never felt overwhelmed, just fully supported at every stage. I added a few extra elements, a vintage fireplace for one, but we worked together to find a cohesive layout and design that would work. It was handy being able to go to the showroom, talk through the options and interact with the products.

The installation was completely stress-free; I wasn't expecting that! Stefan's team arrived when they said they would, worked incredibly hard, and clearly took real pride in what they do. I was surprised every day with how much progress was made. It wasn't just a simple kitchen fit either, they needed to change the floor, build a new wall, re-wire everything, re-do the plumbing, change the lights, radiator etc., even when the usual small challenges cropped up, there was no fuss, just teamwork and a positive attitude throughout.

Pricewise, it was all very well communicated, there were no surprises and I felt in control the whole time.

The result is truly amazing. Everything feels high-quality and built to last. I couldn't be happier with how it's turned out and would absolutely recommend Victoria Kitchens to anyone looking for a kitchen that's beautifully designed and expertly fitted.

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