Personality plus KITCHEN design notes

Sleek, contemporary appliances are softened by a palette of warm, natural materials to make this Melbourne kitchen the perfect fit for its owners.

The vivacious retired couple who owns this home in Melbourne’s north had been living with a cramped, outdated kitchen for three decades, so it was hardly surprising their patience with it had worn thin. Enter interior designer Mikayla Rose of Heartly, who set to work reinvigorating the space as well the owners’ relationship with this all-important room.

Mikayla’s key concern in the kitchen was its limited functionality. “In the old kitchen they found themselves in each other’s way, so the relocation of key utility spaces was critical to avoid this,” she explains. Through careful spatial planning, Mikayla resolved the awkward and impractical U-shaped layout, opening it up to create a 4x3-metre kitchen/dining room that’s suitable for cooking and entertaining simultaneously. There’s also a generous butler’s pantry (pictured opposite), which keeps prep mess out of sight and frees up even more floor space for guests to mingle.

The decoration is intentionally restrained to keep the focus on the materials palette, which includes textural handmade Moroccan tiles. “We wanted to include an organic, handmade tile in the kitchen but for practical reasons it needed to be located higher up, away from all of the action of the splashback – spaghetti sauce on a porous surface is never a good idea!” says Mikayla.

The result is a light, bright and streamlined kitchen that perfectly suits the homeowners. “When I first visited the property, it seemed to me like the owners’ personalites clashed with their home,” says Mikayla. “They are passionate and worldly people with wonderfully eclectic tastes, but the house itself felt very dark and sombre. Now, it’s practical and contemporary yet earthy and soulful. It is authentic and welcoming – just like the owners themselves.”

“IT’S PRACTICAL AND CONTEMPORARY YET EARTHY

AND SOULFUL.” Mikayla Rose, interior designer

JOINERY Oak veneer and MDF painted Dulux Dieskau.

SPLASHBACK & BENCHTOPS Dekton porcelain composite in Zenith (40mm thick), $254/m², Cosentino.

FEATURE TILES Clay Bejmat tiles, $264/m², Tiles of Ezra.

APPLIANCES Freestanding french-door fridge, Fisher & Paykel. PowerMove Plus induction cooktop, IQ 700 StudioLine oven, and

IQ 700 StudioLine pyrolytic oven with microwave, all Siemens.

Sirius rangehood.

TAP Vivid Slimline gooseneck sink mixer in Brushed Nickel finish, Phoenix Tapware.

SINKS Franke ‘Kubus’ under-mount single-bowl sinks, $909 each, Winning Appliances.

LIGHTING Flute wall light,

Anchor Ceramics.

FURNITURE Mattiazzi ‘Osso’ stools by Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec, from $1075 each, District.

FLOORING Tasmanian oak, stained with Bona Natural Primer.