Ruth and Simon were living the dream in their bright, bold Californian bungalow. But with their family growing bigger by the minute, they were rapidly running out of space. An extension was the answer, allowing them to knock down a lean-to backing onto their cute but tiny original kitchen, and thereby create a new open-plan kitchen, living and dining space.

From both an environmental and economic point of view, they wisely wanted to retain some of their existing kitchen. Our brief, therefore, was to match its ‘50s retro style and give Ruth the larger space she needed in which to bake and make such delights as apricot jam, lemon butter and her legendary onion jam. An open-plan space would also put an end to the traffic jam their old kitchen made, as well, giving them a more relaxing place to entertain their friends and very large extended family.

It’s spring every day in this quirky, retro kitchen with its bright Kermit green and white colour scheme. Picking up on the original ‘50s art deco style and amplifying it, Nathan has created a new classic with its sensuously curved features and detail to the overheads.

Open storage displays all Ruth and Simon’s retro canisters and useful, decorative items, whilst all the mod cons including their twin pull-out recycling bins are cleverly concealed. Even the island side of the kitchen bench has a hide-away access door for additional storage.

It takes a lot of care and attention to detail to blend the old with the new in this seamless fashion. So, in the end, it really was easy for Ruth and Simon to be green. We’re happy that the only tears reported to be coming from this kitchen are involved in making that yummy onion jam.