A well-planned ground-floor addition makes room for a streamlined kitchen and dining area in a London terraced house

When Paul Brivati was asked to design the kitchen for this London terraced house, he soon became involved in rethinking the entire ground floor. “There are four bedrooms upstairs, but downstairs was not that great,” he says. “It was cramped and didn’t flow well. We wanted to give the owners and their two children more of an open family home by extending out to create a kitchen and dining room that lead into the garden.”

Brivati cast his design eye over the garden and into the hallway too, where he and his team recommended moving a wall and installing sleek storage to help the entrance flow into the house. This attention to the overall space made the finished kitchen not simply a beautiful room sitting at the back of the house, but one that is fully integrated into a connected, flowing and family-friendly ground floor.

The Hardworking Home: Halls can do more than connect rooms. The ones here house bookcases, cabinets, office space and more

How hard does your hallway work? If it does little more than provide a way to get from point A to point B, consider if you could use your hall for something more. From simple DIY wall-mounted storage to custom bookshelves and built-in workstations, here’s how to get the hardworking hallway your home deserves.

Minimal square footage is no barrier to fulfilling your culinary dreams. These tips will help you squeeze the most out of your space

We might all dream of a huge family kitchen, but most of us have to make do with something smaller. That said, whatever the size of our kitchen, the demands we place on it tend to be the same. We want it to function well for preparing and cooking meals. We might also like to be able to sit and eat in there, even if just perched at a breakfast bar. And we need space for a lot of different objects, from chunky appliances to silverware, dishes and food. The good news is, with some clever planning and great design, it is possible to have all these functions in one tiny space, as these inspiring spaces demonstrate.

Here’s advice on where to put it, how to find and select wood, what it might cost and how to get it done

Adding reclaimed wood to your interior is a quick way to introduce warmth and texture. Used in abundance, it has a rawness that can balance overly neutral or modern spaces and anchor sprawling floor plans. But while installing reclaimed-hardwood floors or countertops can get expensive with the amount of staining, sealing and labor needed, an accent wall of reclaimed wood can be a smaller investment that makes a big visual statement. Here’s what you need to know before getting started.