Kitchen insider
Stylist Megan Morton picks five kitchens with unique design features.
JESSE BENNETT, JESSE BENNETT STUDIO, CAIRNS, QLD jessebennett.com.au
WHERE Cairns, Queensland.
THE BRIEF A kitchen that’s large enough to cook up a huge feast, yet still cosy and warm.
KEY ELEMENTS This Cairns home is constructed mainly from concrete and glass, so rosewood joinery and white-tiled walls for the kitchen, and striking appliances such as a pink Smeg fridge were used to add personality and warmth.
THE STANDOUT The kitchen opens to the courtyard and rainforest via four custom glass sliding wall panels. A rosewood timber bench extends to the outside of the house and drops down into a long line seat, creating a wonderful space where those in the kitchen can interact with visitors and enjoy the nature beyond.
FEEL Clean lines and warm rosewood keep things simple, joyful and relaxed.
SURPRISE TOUCH The sliding glass panels really set this kitchen apart. The home has great city views over Cairns to the south, and an amazing rainforest aspect to the north. Combined with the cross-ventilation design of the house, it makes sitting up at the island bench in the tropical breeze a pretty special experience.>
The cross-ventilation design of the house makes sitting up at the island bench in the tropical breeze a pretty special experience.
CHRIS CLINTON, CORE COLLECTIVE ARCHITECTS, HOBART, TAS corecollective.com.au
WHERE A former bootmaker’s shop built in 1962, five minutes’ drive north of Hobart’s CBD.
THE BRIEF As architect, builder and client, Chris Clinton’s primary requirement was that the kitchen complement the small house – just 100 square metres – and be low-maintenance and user-friendly. The main design challenge was making the very small top storey that houses the kitchen, living and dining area (just 25 square metres) feel open and spacious.
KEY ELEMENTS The lounge side of the kitchen features a warm and elegant recycled Tasmanian myrtle face. This is in contrast to the working side of the kitchen, which is more utilitarian, with robust open shelving and a blackened steel benchtop (a great visual backdrop to food).
THE STANDOUT There are no overhead cupboards. Instead, all the kitchen storage and general appliances are kept low and out of sight; the bench features a built-in exhaust fan and a pop-up power dock to run appliances, and a commercial refrigerator underneath. The uninterrupted views of Mount Wellington don’t hurt either.
FEEL This is a deceptively simple kitchen. On closer inspection, though, it’s hardworking with a few tricks up its sleeve.
SURPRISE TOUCH A built-in dining table pulls out from the living-room side of the kitchen bench. It’s totally invisible when put away and a surprising “wow” moment for visitors.
WENDY LEWIN, WENDY LEWIN ARCHITECT, MOSMAN, NSW
WHERE Elizabeth Bay, Sydney.
THE BRIEF The design of publisher Julie Gibbs’s kitchen was part of a larger brief to turn a very small 1960s harbourside apartment into more seamless and spacious living quarters.
KEY ELEMENTS The kitchen forms part of the entry, library and dining-room spaces, and supports the things the client loves to share with friends and colleagues: books, conversation and a good meal.
THE STANDOUT The steel plate frames and hangers supporting timber veneered carcasses and shelves give the impression of light furniture (as if it were an extension of the library) rather than substantial storage units.
FEEL Despite how compact it is, this is a proper work space for a serious home cook. Both ends of the kitchen connect to the outside, offering a link to the harbour setting.
SURPRISE TOUCH When needed, a large sliding timber panel embedded in the joinery of the storage wall can be used to completely conceal the kitchen from the library, living and dining spaces. It masks any ongoing food preparation and allows the kitchen to be both present and absent, depending on the social setting.>
DAVID FLACK, FLACK STUDIO, FITZROY, VIC flackstudio.com.au
WHERE Just outside Bendigo, surrounded by native bushland.
THE BRIEF To design an efficient kitchen space with everything that a three-generation family who love to entertain would need.
KEY ELEMENTS Lots of concrete, white fantasy marble and custom-designed joinery of American oak with a Black Japan finish.
THE STANDOUT The full-height marble splashback and the dark colour palette are both stunning, and unusual in kitchen design today.
FEEL Undeniably grand but not grandiose.
SURPRISE TOUCH Behind the scenes is a brilliant concrete scullery allowing lots of space for practical tasks such as clearing dirty dishes while the main kitchen continues to be the entertaining space.
FIONA LYNCH, FIONA LYNCH INTERIOR DESIGN OFFICE, COLLINGWOOD, VIC fionalynch.com.au
WHERE A former boot factory that’s now a home in Fitzroy, Melbourne.
THE BRIEF The original kitchen was designed in the
’90s with an incredibly awkward layout. The aim was to make the space feel more open and intuitive by relocating the kitchen to allow for a greater link between the living and dining spaces (pictured page 84).
KEY ELEMENTS An existing services column couldn’t be relocated, but this was resolved by cladding it in a high-gloss grey lacquer with rubber strapping.
The use of rubber is unexpected and not typically seen in kitchen design. The internal courtyard is also breathtaking.
THE STANDOUT The rear wall is free of any overhead cupboards or shelving, so a jewel-like brass rangehood exists as a beautiful and sculptural feature that’s visible from many areas in the house.
FEEL Moody and strong, intimate and inviting.
SURPRISE TOUCH The kitchen’s leathered titanium granite island features a solid, dark-stained oak timber end made from recycled railway sleepers. The turned timber legs are a subtle link to the chamfered edges of the rangehood.
Behind the scenes a brilliant concrete scullery conceals clutter while the kitchen remains clear for entertaining.