Neolith, a brand of Sintered Stone, was recently specified for a special project as part of the latest UK TV series, ‘George Clarke’s Old House, New Home’, broadcast on Channel 4.

‘Old House, New Home’ is a series in which celebrity architect George Clarke transforms tired and tatty properties into achingly cool dwellings which seamlessly blend the old with the new, balancing nostalgia and modernity.

The material was specifically chosen to create an eye-catching kitchen island for a Victorian terrace in Hove, East Sussex.

In the seaside town of Hove, Alex and Andrea were living in a Victorian four-bedroom house. However, as is often the case with these period properties, the kitchen was small and cramped, squeezed into the back of the building.

With a new-born baby, they felt that, whilst there was plenty of area upstairs, they needed to expand the living space to accommodate for the necessities of family life. Focus was placed on extending the kitchen-diner.

The original inspiration for the design was a fusion of deconstructed Victoriana and a clean modern aesthetic. This would be achieved with an open plan, extending the full width of the ground floor rear into the garden. Unfortunately, planning restrictions meant that this initial concept needed to be revised to keep in line with the period look and feel of the area.

Having to scale back plans for their kitchen extension really focused the minds of Alex and Andrea, ultimately giving birth to a more ambitious vision for the space.

An oversized island became the core feature of the kitchen with a matching worktop and splashback. Neolith’s Estatuario E01 was chosen by the designers in 12mm thickness, with a silk finish. The couple also requested that slabs be book-matched to ensure a seamless spill-over from the worktop to the cladding.

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