You wouldn’t believe how this started! A chance meeting at The Glasgow Chamber of Commerce dinner is actually how I met the owner of this fabulous kitchen. Having being seated next to this stranger for the dinner, conversation as normal often turns to work. “Interior design” he said, “if you are free sometime, can you run your eye over my Partick kitchen “   But on Monday morning he did genuinely e mail me regarding an appointment. I had to make myself clear and explain that I did not specialise in kitchens, but working in conjunction with other business associates, I would take a look at the work involved.

As for the remit, client’s brief, instructions and preferences I was simply told “ I kind of thought of red, if it would work, oh! and can you manage to fit a sofa bed in somewhere” “Challenge Anika” I replied, as at that time there really were

not many red gloss kitchens available on the market. But just like it happens on the TV programme, Anika rose to the challenge as you can see by the results.

After a few meetings units, worktops, cooker, fridge freezer and tiles were all chosen. Many red kitchens follow the in trend of the retro look, at present. We deliberately did not want to follow this pattern therefore stayed clear of the black work surfaces and tiles and opted for the softer appearance of grey. Black wallpaper was introduced on all except one wall where I used the same paper only in red to brighten up a rather dark area. To give the illusion of the wall being wider than it actually was, this striped wallpaper was hung horizontally. All the planning was done weeks in advance so that when the kitchen was started it should take as little time as possible ( the “in theory” plan ) Just like many an old house, when the work was started we hit a few snags, ( the reality plan )nothing disastrous but always time consuming. After taking down the wall into the bed recess area, there was large wooden straps in the wall that had to be removed. Not a problem but this did involve lots more plastering, and days of drying time. Cabling for lights had to be installed for above and below the wall cabinets and the ceiling lights. Not to mention the change of position for the cooker, extra sockets and telephone cables. A last minute change of work surface had to be decided due to a stock problem but after that we were on the home straight.

It was a fantastic project that we all loved working on, with a realistic client that was willing to take advice, understanding the fact that there could be problems, there undoubtedly will be mess, but was living with the knowledge that the end results would be stunning, which I hope you will agree with my delighted client, that they are!