Striped marble island and benchtops in contemporary kitchen by Mal Corboy

Always in the kitchen at parties that's where you'll find everyone these days, with good reason. The modern kitchen is the hub for both entertaining and family life.

The existing kitchen in this home, however, was rather bashful. Built in a U shape, it was tucked away in the corner of a large living space, with the cook somewhat isolated. In fact, with the cooktop on the rear wall, the hosts had to turn their backs to guests when cooking.

Designer Mal Corboy was commissioned to create a more social kitchen a contemporary design with plenty of the wow factor.

"The original kitchen did not really do the house justice," the designer says. "Not only did the space require a larger kitchen it also needed a lot more drama."

Corboy says the design of the new kitchen was inspired by a beautiful and unusual zebrino marble he had found, which became the piéce de resistance.

"I had put the stone on hold, waiting for an opportunity to use it. It has a great texture and the stripes give it a strong linear look. For this project, I teamed it with a pearl-blasted oak veneer. This treatment removes the soft grain of the timber, allowing the harder, more prominent grain to feature. It's a very textural surface that is in keeping with current design trends the highly lacquered glossy look is giving way to more textured finishes."

Corboy wrapped the cabinetry down one long wall and around a corner to create a partially hidden scullery area. A marble-clad island with a large work surface incorporates a breakfast table at one end. The oak of the table appears to slice through the marble on the island unifying the two elements.

"We positioned the cooktop on the island so the owners can socialise while preparing meals. With the sink on the perimeter benchtop, there is ample room for more than one person to work in the kitchen at the same time."

A custom-designed rangehood with a Smeg powerpack is wrapped in backpainted glass in a copper metallic shade this also appears on the splashbacks.

"The position of the hood makes a feature of a change in ceiling height," says Corboy. "And the copper metallic finish helps to reflect light in the room. This is especially useful in the corner of the kitchen, which is on the darker, south side of the house. The metallic paint on the splashback, and LED lighting under each shelf, ensure this area is bright and cheerful. We also ran the backpainted glass along the toekicks and added LED lighting to these as well."

Unlike many modern kitchens, there is no stainless steel on show. The sink and the taps are black, as is an industrial-style pendant. The designer also specified black appliances there are four black Smeg ovens at the end of the kitchen. And the recessed pulls for the drawers are in black. Other appliances are fully integrated to maintain visual continuity.

Story by: Colleen Hawkes