This apartment in a Victorian house had three bedrooms and a 100 foot garden but a tiny kitchen and bathroom that were disproportionate to the size and grandeur of the rest of the space. Part of space planning is looking at whether the elements work for what is likely to be required of them, and if all three bedrooms were in use, the kitchen and bathroom would most definitely become overloaded. A basement extension was the obvious answer to convert a low, unused cellar into a decent sized kitchen dining space with family sized bathroom off a lobby. Light limitations can be a problem with basements generally, so in this case I opted for using light, soft coloured Travertine tiles on the floors, light relective paint and glass cabinet doors and splashback to reflect as much light back into the interior as possible. Downlighters, under cabinet lighting and a pendant over the dining table helped raise the lighting levels further and a wooden worktop was added to soften the space and stop it feeling too hard edged. Other tricks to soften kitchen areas that tend to feature a lot of hard surfaces such as stone floorings and worktops are rugs under dining tables, table runners and plants to soften the edges and absorb noise clatter.