Dee Coleman's Modica Forest Green Kitchen

Planning the Kitchen

Dee's new kitchen has been a long time coming. She and her husband bought their house back in 2013. "We actually had a fabulous kitchen for the time that it was built", says Dee. "This is a 1960s house originally. And it was just a little L-shaped kitchen with a hatch through to a big dining space. That didn't work for us". They had always intended to renovate the property and build an extension, but it wasn't until last year that everything finally fell into place. The new kitchen was a key part of the project. "It was prime in the extension", explains Dee. "It’s always been the centre of our home. It’s where everybody hangs out. And literally, the whole ground floor and the space planning was built around this".

A bold and contemporary kitchen

Two things were important to Dee when the kitchen was being designed. Firstly, it had to be functional. Secondly, she wanted a kitchen which looked like it may have come with the house. Dee explains why she ultimately went with the Modica Forest Green: "I chose the Modica door because it’s got bold, contemporary lines. The Forest Green colour gives the personality, which means the rest of the space doesn’t have to work as hard. That colour, combined with the black handles just makes me happy when I see it and the freshness of the white worktop against it gives it a very clean look".

The Quooker boiling water tap

The Quooker tap is one of Dee's favourite features. "I absolutely love my boiling water tap. My Quooker tap has made the biggest change. I drink a lot of herbal tea, as does my husband. And it’s so easy just to make myself a cup of tea. Love it! And I love not having the kettle on the counter! Love getting rid of that clutter". The new tap also speeds up the cooking process with Dee using it to boil water for her pasta and vegetables.

Deep drawer storage

Sometimes it's the simple things that make a big difference. For instance, Dee tells us how her new deep drawer storage takes so much of the stress out of food prep. "To get a pan, I had to go on my hands and knees and open a corner cabinet and take everything out and find the pan that I wanted at the back. Now I have not one, but two drawers that are really deep, just for my pots and pans. And they sit directly under my hob".

Integrated appliances

Dee was keen to achieve a sense of calm in the kitchen. She wanted to keep everything behind doors, including appliances such as her fridge and dishwasher. "Having the integrated appliances means that the kitchen isn’t busy, so visually, I am looking at one plane with one colour. And that just gives me a sense of calm and order".

Warming Drawer

A warming drawer was always high on Dee's wishlist. Now she can put plates in the drawer while cooking, and when she's ready to serve the meal they're nice and warm. The warming drawer is also perfect for keeping food warm when cooking in stages, like with a roast. "For me, it says home", Dee tells us.

Downdraft Extractor Hob

Faber's Galileo downdraft extractor hob combines two appliances in one – the extractor fan and induction hob. "I love induction technology", says Dee. "It’s fast and you can bring something to the boil within seconds. It’s so easy to clean. It’s a wipe. It’s a no-brainer as far as I’m concerned". Dee is also a fan of the downdraft extractor: "I can’t actually believe how lucky I am. It extracts all the smells and the steam. It literally just sucks everything down and out". 
 

The kitchen design process

Dee designed the kitchen with Dee Morrissey, one of the kitchen design experts based in our Swords showroom. They had worked together previously on some of Dee's TV projects. Dee [Coleman] tells us about the process: "from the moment that I sat down with Dee [Morrissey] to when the fitter left, I felt that my very peculiar and very demanding requirements were listened to and understood and that every effort was made to accommodate them. Everything works exactly the way that I wanted it to work. You can’t say better than that. I got the support at the design stage. I got the support at the installation stage".

Dee's final verdict

"I’m really happy with this kitchen and I’m proud to have people come here", Dee tells us. "Recently, I had myself, my husband, a friend and the two children all sitting around the island all interacting with each other, together but separate. And it just felt like it was exactly what I wanted to achieve. I want this kitchen to be a friendly space that everyone gravitates towards. That was actually the biggest objective in designing this kitchen.  And I feel like we’ve achieved it".

"I love my kitchen. I’m jealous of myself. I can hardly believe it’s my kitchen. It has everything I wanted".