{"id":21537,"date":"2025-07-10T14:49:37","date_gmt":"2025-07-10T13:49:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tomhowley.co.uk\/?post_type=real_projects&p=21537"},"modified":"2025-07-17T13:53:26","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T12:53:26","slug":"family-cottage-kitchen","status":"publish","type":"real_projects","link":"https:\/\/www.tomhowley.co.uk\/real-projects\/family-cottage-kitchen\/","title":{"rendered":"A Forever Kitchen in a Somerset Cottage"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Close Gallery<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n

As a busy oncologist and mother of two young children, Lara saw the kitchen as the heart of this next chapter. What began as a dream of owning a Tom Howley kitchen soon became a reality, thanks to the expertise of designer Lucy and a vision that perfectly balanced beauty, functionality, and family life.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201c<\/span>This house will be here long after we’re gone. We feel like custodians rather than owners, and we wanted to honour that as we renovated. The kitchen, in particular, had to reflect the heritage of the property and the way our modern family lives.\u201d<\/span><\/h2>\r\n
LARA GIBBS<\/div>\r\n
TOM HOWLEY CLIENT<\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Property Background: A Cottage Full of Character<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The cottage, with its triple-aspect kitchen and rich history, offered a unique canvas for a renovation that would honour its past while embracing modern family living. However, the kitchen itself was far from ideal. “It was a peachy, colour-blocked room, dated and not at all calming,” Lara recalls. For someone who believes in the power of spaces to influence mood and well-being, this was a challenge she was eager to tackle. “Coming home to a safe, happy, light, airy space that makes me feel calm and restorative was important,” she explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Client Brief and Vision: A Space That Feels Like Home<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When Lara and Darren first began imagining their dream kitchen, they felt torn between aspiration and budget. “I would say I have reasonably high-end taste,” she laughs, “but I was worried we wouldn’t achieve the finish we wanted. I didn’t want to get to an end product and then have some slight regrets that it wasn’t quite what we wanted in the long term.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After months of researching on Pinterest and Instagram, Lara noticed a pattern; she was continually drawn to Tom Howley kitchens. “I did a lot of research on all the social media channels you would normally do, and every time I saw a photo and pinned it, it was the same type of colour scheme and always Tom Howley.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With encouragement from Darren, Lara visited the Bristol showroom, expecting to be wowed, but unsure if the dream would be financially possible. “Walking into the showroom was like stepping into another world,” she recalls. “You feel like you’ve stepped into the catalogue.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That visit changed everything. Meeting Tom Howley designer Lucy gave Lara not just clarity and confidence, but a plan to bring her vision to life, without sacrificing the home’s integrity or their budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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