Rebecca Judd renovates a derelict beachside cottage

If the kitchen is the heart of the home, then this one is full of love.

A major step in my renovation of a derelict beachside cottage, for The Style School, was to rip out the old kitchen and treat it to one with warmth and soul. To appreciate how far this kitchen has come, you need to understand how overdue it was for an overhaul, from tired cupboards to brown tiles and an ancient oven.

Before styling and a fresh fit-out could begin, we demolished a wall to create much needed space. The basis of the look was functional but pretty, and I believe both can be achieved without sacrifice.

I love marble for its sense of luxury and elegance, and I have used it quite a bit in our family home. I went on the hunt for a sensible option for this little miner’s house. Marble is seen as expensive – and it can be – but there are variations which are affordable and just as beautiful.

For the kitchen island bench, I chose a slab of New York marble with a deep, grape-coloured vein. It is a colour that can be referenced in other fixtures and fittings.

This magnificent benchtop is an engineered stone with the look of Calacatta marble, and is in on par with that in many stylish ways.

Here is some food for thought: we paid less than $200 a square metre for the bench, which is about 80 per cent less than a higher-end stone.

Marble is also used for the penny-round mosaics on the splashback and walls. I adored the daintiness of the shape, and the result is fine detail without being distracting.

Above the bench are pendant lights in a shade of blueish-purple, which picks up on the rich tones within the marble, and, for practicality, hang above the food prep area. The cupboards were updated with a clean and simple white vinyl wrap, accented with leather handles for softness and texture.

The traditional AGA cooktop in mint is a cute addition that is out of the box from the usual choice of stove, and although the colour pops, it suits the lighter colour palette of the home.

This kitchen has been designed to take your eye on a journey, from feature to feature, and the complementary tones and materials pull it all together.

These are the ingredients for a chic but homely kitchen.