Photography by Rory Gardiner, courtesy of Mark Lewis Interior Design.
Mark Lewis began his career as a costume designer; he then segued into set design before becoming an in-demand London interior designer—all of which explains his ease at referencing the past, thinking on both a sweeping and a microscopic scale, and staying mindful of budget.
For a young family of four, Lewis introduced an addition to the back of a North London Victorian that serves as kitchen, dining space, back entry, home office, and more.
The Kitchen Extension
The addition links the kitchen to the garden and features wood-framed French doors.
The resulting space, approximately 45 square meters (484 square feet), is double the size of what had been there and required inserting steel supports—”to hold up the chimney and the WC wall”—in the interior.
Lewis has an aversion to “fitted kitchens” and whenever possible installs drawers instead of cabinets, “all in a line rather than turning a corner.” Over the counter, he opts for racks and open shelves.
The sink is set in an antique pot cupboard from John Cornall Antiques of Warwick, and the adjoining drawers are made of old pine floorboards.
The butler sink is a Rak Gourmet Double Bowl and Lewis’s go-to Brass Mixer Faucet is from Aston Matthews.
Tricks of the trade: To accentuate the graining on the drawers, the wood was “brushed with a wire brush that creates the texture of driftwood” and finished with Fiddes Liming Wax.
Lewis lines his kitchen drawers with leftover wallpaper: “We stick it down with double-sided tape and don’t add anything to protect it—you lose the magic if you seal it. You just need to be prepared to redo it every few years.”
Kitchen Details
How to light the work area immediately under the skylights?
The open shelves are whitewashed floorboards supported by Strong Boy Cast Bronze Brackets; £39 ($51.47).
All of Lewis’s hardware is hand cast in England.
Antique brass colanders hang from a Cast Bronze Pan Rack; £95 ($125.38). Under it, a wall-mounted Cast-Bronze Draining Rack, £650 ($857.87) holds a vintage wire draining basket that Lewis is thinking of reproducing.
Lewis dressed up the family’s English farmhouse table by painting the base and legs pale gray using Eicó, a low-VOC line of paints.
The tabletop is fuss-free and can also be used for food prep.
Double doors open to the backyard.
Lewis left the ceiling framework exposed and whitewashed. The bronze-finished sconces are Maria Wall Lights; £103.32 ($136.78) from Urban Cottage Industries.
The new, old-fashioned cast-iron radiators are the Radiator Company’s Ledbury design with exposed copper piping: “The refurbished radiators I’ve found are just a pain in the ass,” says Lewis.
Lewis used an existing alcove in the back of the kitchen to create a built-in desk and shelves made from scaffolding planks.
Workspace
The wall has tongue-and-groove paneling in Elephant’s Breath from Farrow & Ball.
Above L: The German Angled Bakelite Wall Sconces, £57.60 ($76), are from Urban Cottage Industries.
A back corner contains a utility room and wallpapered WC.
Utility Room
Cast Bronze Jamie Coat Hooks, £26 ($34.44), are mounted on an old floorboard outside the two rooms.
The utility room is used for “practical tasks, like washing children and garden paraphernalia,” says Lewis.
A compact Belfast Sink by Twyford sits on a counter made from salvaged Swedish pine: “It’s very thick, so it’s great for a worktop.” A washer-dryer and the boiler are tucked below, and the fuse box is hidden behind the wooden doors.
Lewis’s plumber made the copper piping faucet on-site.
Strong Boy Aged Cast-Iron Brackets, £35 ($46.23), support the two tiers of open shelves.
Reclaimed Welsh Quarry Tiles—”originally made for schools, hospitals, and factories”—line the floor of the utility room and WC.
Lewis salvaged the stained glass rose from a window in the back of the house and paired it with Robert Kime’s Tokai Wallpaper in rose.
Powder Room
The Ebonized Wooden Toilet Seat and Cover, £173.93 ($229.71), is from Aston Matthews: “A bit expensive but worth it.”
The utility room and WC were slotted into the back of the kitchen.