An architecturally inspired kitchen with a large blue island, by Kim Duffin

The owners of this extensively remodeled house literally have the best of both worlds, spending six months of the year in Italy and the other six months in Australia.

Not surprisingly, their cosmopolitan roots have influenced their taste, says Kim Duffin, the designer in charge of the renovation.

"The couple are retired, yet thoroughly modern," Duffin says. "They wanted to incorporate the current European trend of furniture -style kitchens. This helped determine the new galley design, with its single island and large bank of storage cupboards. With all the doors closed, this bank creates a strong linear look, which is sleek and clutter free."

Visual warmth is provided, however, by the brushbox wood floors, posts and ceilings the wood also lines several of the shelving units on the rear wall.

But the real drama of the kitchen is provided by the 16ft-long island, which runs parallel to the rear cabinets. The island features backpainted blue glass doors and drawers the highly technical process required precision CNC cutting of the glass.

"Most of the day-to-day action takes place around this hub," says Duffin. "The induction cooktop is housed within a seamless piece of quartz, which then flows into a custom stainless steel countertop that houses the sink. The stainless steel continues over a waterfall side, visually grounding and connecting the island to the rest of the space."

Because the owners enjoy preparing meals from scratch, a large brushbox wood cutting board is concealed within the island. Many other items are hidden within the bank of cabinets. Doors can be retracted to reveal many work zones, such as the pantry, refrigerator, second sink and small appliances.

The kitchen features eco-friendly lighting, including LED cool white strips and downlights.

Story by: Colleen Hawkes