A Kitchen for the Cottage

Tythe Cottage – known to thousands on Instagram as The Cottage on the Canal – is home to Nadia and her family, tucked away in a quiet corner of Solihull and surrounded by greenery.

A recent renovation and extension has added a beautiful contemporary extension featuring a pitched roof and dramatic, full-height apex windows, and the family wanted to rearrange the living and kitchen areas to make the most of this feature.

As well as a country kitchen, we also created a boot room and a pantry space for Nadia, to help make life flow more smoothly while bringing the style of the kitchen into the rest of the house.

The Tom Howley Solution

With 200 years of history hidden in the cottage walls, creating a space that is timeless and visually marries the old and the new, was a priority for Nadia and designer Lakshmi.

Coming up the secluded garden path, you can see a glimpse of life through the full-height windows, and the family wanted that glimpse to be of the very heart of their home – the kitchen.

Updating the footprint of the home to switch the kitchen and living spaces was where we began. Although the old layout worked, it didn’t make the most of the incredible views over the garden, so Lakshmi prioritised a light-filled, sociable space that connected with the gardens for a calming, nature-inspired view in every season.

“As you enter through the small front gate, the kitchen is immediately visible through the patio doors. I wanted the island to be the focal point—something you notice the moment you step through those gates. To reinforce this, the island faces the front of the house and is engraved with the house name. With the kitchen fully visible through the glass doors, it naturally became the heart and fabric of the home.” – Lakshmi Dattathreyan, Tom Howley Designer

“The Tom Howley kitchen is definitely the most asked-about feature, closely followed by the pantry, boot room and our media wall. People are often surprised by how the house flows and how much larger it feels than they expect. They also can’t believe the kitchen used to be the lounge—it completely changes how they see the space.” – Nadia Rose @thecottageonthecanal

The addition of the pantry and boot room connected the kitchen to the rest of the house, using the same coloured cabinetry, while creating distinct spaces to keep the mess of daily life out of the kitchen, leaving it clear to create moments of calm, connection, and peace.

Design Details

Nadia’s kitchen comes from our Hartford cabinetry range, full of classic, vintage-inspired detailing to make it feel right at home in this country cottage setting.

Burnished brass detailing in the handles and hinges give a warm, old-world feeling, and beautifully set off the soft grey of the Tansy-painted cabinet run, and the dramatic Nightshade island.

Using a deep shade for the kitchen island makes the kitchen feel personal and unique, without overpowering the space in dark tones. It also provided the base colour scheme for the pantry and boot room – smaller spaces where bold colour choices feel more manageable.

It’s not all about fashion though – as a working family kitchen, the cottage on the canal needed to be functional too. Fridges and freezers by Neff, a classic country-style Rangemaster cooker, Miele microwave, Quooker tap and mQuvée wine cooler all pull their weight to make this kitchen work seamlessly for Nadia’s family.

The Feeling

This project was all about making the most of the amazing space, incredible gardens and beautiful hybrid traditional/contemporary style that Nadia has created. Most of all though, it was about creating a space for true connection – with the historic house, with the natural world outside, and the people within.

“The kitchen has brought us together. It’s become the heart of the house where everyone naturally gravitates. Whether it’s cooking, doing homework at the island, chatting over coffee or entertaining friends, we spend so much more quality time together because the space encourages it.”

I wanted something timeless rather than trend-led. The quality, craftsmanship and attention to detail really stood out, and I loved how bespoke everything felt. Years on, I genuinely love it just as much as the day it was finished. It still feels special every morning when I walk into it, and that’s probably the biggest compliment I can give.” – Nadia Rose @thecottageonthecanal

Explore more of our case studies to see how a Tom Howley kitchen can make any space work at its absolute best or speak to a local designer about how your space could be transformed.

Photography by @davidgilesphotography