In 2020, Yoko Kloeden Design reimagined the idea of a ‘cook’s kitchen’ as an inspiring space for Cameroonian chef Carine Ottou, who runs her culinary business from her Victorian terrace home in Brixton.
Living there with her husband and two young children, Carine wanted to transform the home into a gastronomic haven – including synonymous kitchen spaces inside and outside of the home that reflected her ‘straight from nature’ style of cooking.
We had the opportunity to sit down with Carine, who moved back into her home in December 2019, to delve deeper into her thoughts around her house and look back the renovation experience as a whole. In particular, we discussed what it was like for her to undergo the most significant work she has ever undertaken and how she feels about her home now.
How would you describe your home before?
The previous house was old and outdated; we had not done anything to it up until that point so we were definitely eager to make changes. The home had always ‘worked’ as a space for my husband and I, but after we had our children and they began to grow up, it just became too small and we knew it would not sustain the growth.
Why did you select Yoko Kloeden Design?
After speaking with other interior designers, what I noticed was different about Yoko was that she really took the time to understand every aspect of what I was needing for my home – then took the time to compile the details into a very clear creative brief.
How does Yoko’s ethos relating to nature resonate with you?
I feel very close to nature in my everyday life, whether it is spending time at our allotment or the natural ingredients in my dishes – I have a real affinity with it so I knew I wanted to incorporate elements from nature in my home from the beginning of the project.
What challenges did you need to overcome during initial stages?
The biggest challenge we had was securing permits with Lambeth council which caused time delays – once we learned that they had been rejected it was very frustrating but thankfully, the council finally accepted them after admitting their mistake.
What do you believe were the biggest achievements?
Believe it or not, we were hugely successful at keeping on track with timings – and that hardly ever happens with a home project – so the biggest achievement was being able to move back in the house when we said we would.
What are your favourite spaces in your new home?
Our favourite space really has to be the ground floor as a whole as it was designed to be seamless where each room interconnects with each other.
How does your new home make you feel?
It really feels like our dream home; Yoko was able to take our vision and turn it into something better than what we originally anticipated. It took some time to get used to at first – we were amazed seeing it all finished and could not believe it was our home.
Would you like to know more about this project?
The full case study PDF is available to download here.
We are beyond delighted to see Carine and her family enjoying their new home. Home renovation is often cited as one of the most stressful experiences and periods people go through in their life time, while our job is to make it less stressful as possible.
This project was featured in Elle Decoration, The Observer, Hola and Food & Wine magazine, click here to read what the press said about the project.
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