Kunle’s playful pastel kitchen

After being the fun filled heart of family life for 12 years, Kunle Barker’s Edwardian terraced home was looking tired. So the property expert, who writes for national press and is a presenter and interiors consultant for shows such as Project Home, Grand Designs and Love Your Home and Garden, decided to give the interior a facelift with complementary pastel shades and practical surfaces.  

Kunle told us: “We wanted to give our home a loving update, building on the aspects that already worked and staying true to the architecture of the building. Our goal was to give our home a luxe makeover on a budget, introducing elements of modern styling with playful colours and practical materials.”

Open plan living

With two children, a dog and a love of entertaining, the open plan layout of the home still suited Kunle’s family so his objective was to inject warmth and a more modern look with soft pinks and blues and new flooring.

Floor installed: Baltic Limed Oak

Choosing Baltic Limed Oak from the Korlok range, Kunle has taken the same flooring throughout the downstairs to give his home a cohesive sense of flow. Orientating the planks in a front to back layout rather than the original side-to-side floorboards has also given the room a proportional sense of scale.

Playful colours

When it came to updating his tired kitchen, Kunle knew from experience that small changes can have a real impact. The existing cupboards still offered the storage and layout that the family needed so Kunle decided to update the look with paint and a new worksurface.

The cupboard doors have been painted in pale pink and blue and the beech worksurface replaced with a contemporary white composite quartz. Using the same material as a splashback and adding a waterfall effect to the island unit has transformed this room. 

The same pink shade has been taken into the dining space, subtly yet effectively connecting the two areas as well as adding warmth to an area that gets little natural light. 

Easy-fit flooring

Opting for a neutral wood look in a light tone has helped to reflect and maximise the available natural light in this large open plan space. The natural oak look of Baltic Limed Oak, with its authentically reproduced grain markings and matt textured surface, sets off the warm pastel colour palette to perfection.

Kunle explained: “I was immediately drawn to Baltic Limed Oak as it had the naturally light feel we were going for. We chose a click-locking (rigid core) format as this meant we could fit the new flooring ourselves directly over the existing floorboards, reducing costs and disruption but also preserving the house’s original features.

“We’re absolutely delighted with the result. Although we haven’t changed anything structural or our furniture, our home has a completely different feel and we’re looking forward to hosting many more parties!”

Shop the Korlok range.