Deborah Hutton’s Sparkling New Kitchen

Design-savvy cook Deborah Hutton has created a spacious, high-performance kitchen – without breaking the bank.

Media personality and style maven Deborah Hutton is a passionate foodie who loves to cook. “I spend my life in the kitchen!” she says. So, having the opportunity to create her ideal kitchen from scratch, based on her four favourite ingredients – light, space, views and a nod to the Hamptons – has been a dream come true.

Deborah bought her home, a two-storey 1920s brick cottage in a beachside Sydney suburb, three years ago. Perched on a hillside, the property came with sublime views, but the orientation of the rooms – especially the upstairs kitchen and living zone – didn’t take full advantage of the location. “I knew I had to open it up to those views,” she says.

The kitchen was part of a major renovation, including a complete rebuild and reconfiguration of the first floor. The newly open-plan dining/living zone includes a 7m-long kitchen, designed and installed by Freedom Kitchens. This space opens onto a new balcony spanning the entire 7.5m-width of the home, accessed via wall-to-wall sliding glass doors. Taking pride of place is a 3.8m island bench with double sink, positioned to soak up the heavenly vista. “Now I can work at the island bench and enjoy views of the beach while I’m cooking,” says Deborah. “It’s bliss!”

Equally blissful is the luxurious 7m Caesarstone-topped workbench. There’s also oodles of storage for appliances, cookbooks and dinnerware, display shelves for pretty things and a handy hidden pantry with an additional sink. For style cues, Deborah turned to the Hamptons. “I wanted timeless and classic, with a sophisticated beach-house feel,” she says. “For me, that meant a white kitchen with a Shaker profile and lots of textural elements in the design.” A keen entertainer, Deborah can’t wait to christen the space with a social gathering. The menu will reflect her signature style: “relaxed, casual, simple and tasty”.

THE DETAILS

Island benchtop ‘Dogal Light’ grey honed marble, $385/m², Surface Gallery. Rear benchtop Caesarstone Cloudburst, $900/m² (installed). Splashback Handmade ceramic tiles, 75x300mm, $93/m², Surface Gallery. Tapware ‘Arc BCS’ Hydrotap, $5695, Zip. Perrin & Rowe ‘Phoenician’ mixer with spray rinse, $1238,

The English Tapware Company. Handles ‘Bronte’ handles, 270mm, from $45 each, Hepburn Hardware.

THE APPLIANCES

Pyrolitic oven, combi-steam cooker, gas cooktop, rangehood, integrated dishwasher and fridge/freezer, Miele.

NUMBER CRUNCH

Freedom Kitchens cabinetry $42,000 (including main kitchen plus pantry with sink and LED strip lighting).

A vaulted ceiling with exposed beams painted white, plus a stone fireplace in the adjacent living area, add visual texture to the space. Handmade white subway tiles are teamed with light grey grout, tying in with the Caesarstone Cloudburst benchtop. “The grey grout also accentuates the irregular line of the tiles,” says Deborah. “It’s a great effect.” The 3.8m-long island is 980mm wide and 920mm high. Topping the central bench is a slab of light grey honed marble; the rear benchtop is Caesarstone Cloudburst. “Having both benchtops in the same material would have been too much.”

“I love the fluted glass of the cupboards. They’re illuminated from within and the light looks beautiful shining through the shimmering glass.” For the cabinetry beneath the 7m-long rear bench, Deborah chose Freedom Kitchens’ ‘Somersby’ doorfronts, with a simple Shaker-style profile. “They were all-important to creating the Hamptons feel.”