ALLOY Solid Metal Tiles Save Email Cover the wall If you’re still craving clear, empty walls but can’t stomach the idea of your items out on display, then opt for a bank of floor-to-ceiling pantry cupboards along one side to keep your neat-freak side satisfied. This wall of units won’t feel as oppressive as upper kitchen cabinets, and you’ll still have the chance to show off that dazzling feature tile you’ve been eyeing up. Win-win!
Compare and contrast Galley kitchens can often feel a little featureless, thanks to their long and narrow layout. Try raising the pulse by mixing some rough with the smooth. A chunky, super-tough concrete benchtop opposite a super-skinny porcelain surface will create a stunning contrast that’s sure to get your heart racing.
The professional touch Stainless-steel benchtops are super-hygienic, and can withstand heat, water and stains; their use in commercial kitchens is testament this. However, steel is pretty chilly to touch, and it does scratch so it’s probably not the ideal material for a breakfast bar which sees a lot of cutlery action. Pairing it with a similarly smooth and sleek surface for the eating area, such as limestone, will make your serious home cooking space welcoming yet super-functional.
Raw edge Polished concrete benchtops make a stunning statement and are perfect for channelling a trendy industrial look. However, the rawness of its texture and finish can feel a little cold and uninviting for an eating area, so try teaming it with a super smooth and cleaner-looking surface, such as a composite. Composites are manmade materials, using rock minerals suspended in tough resin. They are stain-resistant, easy to care for and anti-bacterial, making them so clean you could eat your dinner off of them.
Keen bakers will know the benefits of rolling dough on a chilled surface (it doesn’t stick so much) so why not include a slab or marble or granite at the end of a wood or laminate bench to do the job? It will make an interesting feature, as well as a practical area for popping hot cake tins or saucepans. Easy to wipe down too, this is a brilliant solution for busy kitchens that want a relaxed yet functional working space.
Many people pick timber for its good looks, but it needs regular oiling when used around the stove and sink to prevent scorching and water damage. Therefore, if you still want your kitchen to display the beauty of wood, but are unsure if timber benchtops are practical, use wood just in the eating area and you’ll save yourself a heap of time on maintenance. I love the combination of distinctive wood grains, such as zebrawood or iroko, teamed with modern pale surfaces, such as limestone.
The bold graphic splashback is composed of handmade diamond-shaped concrete pieces with a flat finish. They were made by Arto, a family-owned Los Angeles company that has been in business since 1966. “Each tile is handmade, and the colour in every one is a little bit different,” says Arto co-owner Armen Alijian. “The concrete patinas over time, which is part of their beauty.” Alijian recommends sealing the tiles when they are used in a kitchen setting; Brown used a penetrating sealer here.
Start your day with music Get your mornings off to a lively start with your favourite, energetic tunes. If they’re the kind of songs you can sing along to, so much the better. Put together a morning playlist and it will be extra easy to start your day off singing.
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Andrew Meiring Architects Save Email Industrial in style, the kitchen is a sharp-lined study in stainless-steel and dark-stained cedar. The fridge was moved to a closed-off scullery area and the rear benchtop is a 3mm sheet of steel with a fine welded edge. “It’s almost like a catering kitchen,” says Meiring. “It’s very easy to keep clean.”
To reflect You will notice that most kitchen designs place the sink on the bench adjacent to the window that provides light and a view to the outside world. However, there are times when design dictates that the kitchen is situated in a corner of the house devoid of any light and outside windows. A mirrored splashback allows it to act as one long window, reflecting a view and allowing light to bounce off for the task at hand. You can also cook or prepare food while looking into the mirror and having a conversation with guests seated at the island bench.
Castle Harbour homes Save Email In a secret room. This is so very James Bond that it’s hard not to love it. I think every home needs a secret room. Whether it’s hiding in pantry joinery, a wall in a closet or behind a bookshelf (as in the photo below), a secret room can be used for all manner of fun things. Kids love using them for playrooms and games of hide and seek and they are excellent for keeping kids toys from overtaking your living room. They are also great as walk in pantries and games rooms. However, I think the best use for a secret room is to give you a special place you can dump everything in a hurry or to shove things when you just want the house tidied quickly for your own peace of mind.
Behind cupboard doors. The kitchen can be a very messy place and it’s the part of the house that is most like Groundhog Day. If your family, like mine, insist on eating constantly (they can’t possibly be hungry again? Can they?), then the kitchen is constantly messy. It’s so mind-numbingly boring to clear those dishes again and again. That’s where the sliding doors come in handy. I propose that with this set up you could just pile everything behind a door, close it up and feel the peace wash over you – for most of the day. It could quite happily sit there for a few hours, until the next meal when you do all those dishes together, thus saving time, energy and mental health.
Show off with a showstopper Don’t be afraid to use a bold, bright contrast to make your kitchen really stand out from the crowd. Stick to a palette of easy-on-the-eye neutrals for the main units and then go all out on a fabulous statement piece in a more flamboyant hue. This dazzling turquoise shelving certainly stands out against the rest of the kitchen and transforms crockery and vases into works of art. If you’re designing an open-plan living area, you can easily introduce the same colour into other zones – on fabrics or cushions, for instance – for a harmonious space.
Contrast colour and finish Mix and match kitchens aren’t just about pairing different colours, they’re also about the juxtaposition of textures – gloss against matt or honed against rough-hewn, for instance. Here, the glossy, silver-grey glass adds shine next to the rough-cut oak cupboards, creating an interesting look that would slot into any style of home.
Style in a subtle manner If bold colour and a daring use of materials aren’t on your design radar, why not introduce a subtle, sophisticated contrast instead? The understated mix of greige matt lacquer units and oak cabinets is gentle, refined and warm, but still manages to inject a fresh dynamic into the space. Keep flooring and walls muted and earthy, too, for a kitchen that’s inviting, livable and a pleasure to work in.
Mix up your monoliths Even if you don’t have any wall units to speak of, your kitchen can still nail the mix-and-match look with aplomb. In fact, big, blocky kitchens are sometimes crying out for a juxtaposition of materials and hues to shake things up a little. Look how incredibly chic this monolithic design appears, with the sink block clad in a luxurious veined marble and the cooking station swathed in a tobacco brown lacquer. Of course, the grand proportions of this room offer bare bones of the highest calibre to start with, but the considered use of colours and materials enhances the elegant architecture many times over.
Break up an all-white scheme Let’s be honest, wrap-around white gloss units can be in danger of appearing a little clinical. However, introducing an accent colour or material on the bottom half of the design (this rich walnut is gorgeous), adds depth and definition, creating a more well-rounded space.
Use to highlight symmetry There’s a pleasing symmetry to this kitchen, which is accentuated by the canny use of contrasting colours and materials. Simple blocks of white, handle-free units create a starting point for the design, from which well-balanced planes of richly veined marble, exotic timber and stainless steel add an individual touch. To allow every element to create an impact, such variation needs space on its side, so this works best in larger kitchens.
Go half and half It’s not unusual to see a bank of one colour on wall cabinets and a different shade on base units, but why not try dividing materials vertically, as in this stylish design? The contrast of slick, plain white units on one half of the kitchen works incredibly well against the exotic striped wood doors on the other – with the white dining chairs offering a clever visual link between the two.
marble, charcoal, copper
white, steel, wenge
black, white, blonde
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Microwave cabinet The microwave is a kitchen appliance that many of us can not live without. One of the things that my clients constantly complain about in their existing kitchen is having their microwave on the benchtop, taking up valuable bench space. Housing your microwave in an overhead cupboard isn’t always an option, depending on the layout and design of your kitchen. A great solution is to incorporate a microwave cabinet under your bench, maybe in your island. This will free up valuable bench space and also means that the microwave is at a height that all your family can easily use, including your children as they get older
Bulkhead storage Storage, storage, storage! We all crave extra storage in every part of our home, but mostly the kitchen. If you have high ceilings, consider building an extra row of cabinets above your kitchen instead of an empty bulkhead. Sure, they will be high and not easy to access on a daily basis, however, they will add valuable storage space to your kitchen. Use them to store items that you don’t use very regularly, such as items that you only use once a year like at Christmas time. Keeping these lesser used items up high will free up more space in your lower cabinets for items that you use every day
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The Mezzofocus fireplace has been given pride of place on a custom-built concrete base.
A butler’s pantry behind the main kitchen provides plenty of extra storage and bench space for food preparation
Desire a kitchen that feels open, airy and not too top heavy? Then we’re sure you’ll appreciate this design trend, which Pillay predicts will be on the rise in 2015. “Open-plan kitchens are now being designed with fewer wall cabinets, though obviously this depends on the size of the kitchen and storage for the client,” she explains.
Indoor-outdoor kitchen The boundaries between inside and out are blurred in a tropical-style home, and one of the easiest ways to achieve this is with a kitchen that extends onto the deck. Sliding doors and concertina windows can separate the spaces when necessary, but they can otherwise stay open to the elements. A set-up like this encourages outdoor dining all year long. HOW TO DO IT: If there’s no room indoors for island seating, extending the kitchen onto a covered deck can solve the problem nicely. Simply plant some stools at the window as in this kitchen
Honeycomb Hexagon tiles are nothing new – they’ve been popular for ages with good reason – but it’s not every day that you see them scaled up to this size or in a natural wood tone. By concentrating the hex tiles above the main work areas (stovetop and sink) instead of filling the entire wall, the honeycomb pattern really comes into focus.
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