Country fare new kitchen by Du Bois Design

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Country kitchen by Natalie Du Bois

A view of the kitchen and dining areas. countertop, home, interior design, kitchen, property, real estate, room, gray, white — A view of the kitchen and dining areas.

A view of the kitchen from the dining ceiling, countertop, cuisine classique, home, interior design, kitchen, living room, real estate, room, gray, white

A view of the kitchen and breakfast bar. countertop, cuisine classique, interior design, kitchen, real estate, room, table, gray

A close up view of the kitchen area. ceiling, countertop, home, interior design, kitchen, room, white

A close up view of the kitchen cabinetry cabinetry, countertop, home, home appliance, interior design, kitchen, refrigerator, shelf, gray

A close up view of the cooktop. - furniture, home, home accessories, interior design, room, table, wall, gray, white

A close up view of the kitchen sink bathroom, ceiling, daylighting, home, interior design, real estate, room, sink, tap, window, gray

A close up view of the cooktop and ceiling, countertop, home, house, interior design, kitchen, living room, room, table, gray

Designing a country kitchen is never about making a bold statement it's more about ensuring the living is easy.

Natalie Du Bois, the designer of this kitchen, says the small, traditional cottage was originally all contained within the space of the new kitchen-dining-living room.

"Pushing the house out to create two new bedroom wings greatly enlarged it, and meant we could also enlarge the living spaces and kitchen."

Du Bois says that right from the start, it was important to retain a sense of tradition.

"The owners wanted to keep the existing character and they agreed that the sea view was so spectacular, nothing inside should detract from it. The room needed to blend in with the environment it had to be a tranquil, peaceful place for the owners and extended family and friends a place where they could recharge their batteries."

For this reason, walls are a warm white, cabinets feature traditional painted tongue-and-groove doors, and corners have fluted posts.

"The benchtops are also textured," says the designer. "They feature a very natural rippled quartz stone, that is almost like soapstone to touch, but it has a distinctive textural element."

Behind the scenes, it's a different story however, as the latest technology enhances the functionality of the kitchen. The refrigerator, part of a large bank of cabinetry and appliances on the rear wall, is flanked by two pull-out Kessebe¶hmer pantries, with baskets below for fruit and vegetables.

"It's a very symmetrical layout, which keeps some order to the kitchen," says Du Bois. "We also provided a larger-than-normal refrigerator and oven, to make it easy to cater to a crowd. Cabinet doors above the oven slide open to reveal more storage and another bench area for small appliances. However, an electric jug is not one of them, as we have provided a hot water tap for instant boiling water."

Food preparation, serving and cleaning mostly takes place on the long, island-style peninsula. Du Bois positioned both the sink and the cooktop on the peninsula to ensure the owners could enjoy the view and socialise with guests while preparing meals.

"This did pose a challenge, however," says the designer. "We didn't want a large hood suspended in the middle of the room, obstructing the view and taking up space. So we introduced a Wolf downdraught ventilation unit that works extremely well."

To maximise every bit of the space, there is even storage for trays in the toekicks below the oven.