Country kitchen special: designing the heart of the home
FROM A COAT OF PAINT TO STARTING FROM SCRATCH, THESE KITCHENS EMBRACE THE COUNTRY WAY WITH MODERN LIFE IN MIND.
“We just wanted to lighten up the place with some modernity but still have a classic country feel.”
JENNY PAUL IS A KEEN COOK so a beautifully light kitchen was high on the renovation list when she and her partner Allan bought a house in the NSW South Coast town of Milton. “The 1880s house was so dark and gloomy and we just wanted to lighten up the place with some modernity but still a classic country feel,” explains Jenny. Housed within a new two-storey extension is an open-plan kitchen with enough character and charm to meld with the original cottage. Jenny consulted with interior designer Christina Prescott on the design details, selecting a striking sweep of Dulux Mt Eden for the island bench “for a bit of oomph and to ground the room”, with a paler grey Dulux Wairakei double-strength on the cabinets. She used white surfaces such as Smartstone benchtops in Arcadia and the splashback features handmade white tiles from Surface Gallery. Black stained stools sit at the bench lit by feature pendant lights — both from Cult — and engineered oak flooring in a warm timber grain ground the entire look. The kitchen living area conveniently overlooks the vegetable garden and the chicken coop, while a highly productive orchard is close by. “We have 20 chickens of every assortment and at first we thought we’d have to move the chicken house from view, but now we love looking at them.” For Jenny, the new kitchen is everything she dreamt it would be. “It’s not pretentious, it’s just easy, simple and welcoming.” For more on Jenny’s renovation of The Old Schoolhouse Milton, turn to page 56. >