Centrally located kitchen has great looks and also achieves a feeling of intimacy, despite its open, light-filled surroundings

At the centre of the home, with floor-to-ceiling glazing all around, this light-filled kitchen strikes a mid point between standing out and standing back

A wood-look engineered veneer on the front of architecture, building, ceiling, design, dining room, floor, furniture, home, house, interior design, living room, loft, property, real estate, room, table, black — A wood-look engineered veneer on the front of the island brings warmth to this design and connects the kitchen to nearby elements, such as the dining table and chairs. The feature island has a chunky waterfall-end benchtop, while the perimeter benchtop is slender.

A large bulkhead with internal task lighting helps architecture, building, ceiling, countertop, design, floor, furniture, home, house, interior design, kitchen, lighting, loft, material property, property, real estate, room, table, black, gray

In balance – this kitchen has its own architecture, building, cabinetry, ceiling, countertop, cupboard, design, floor, flooring, furniture, glass, hardwood, home, house, interior design, kitchen, laminate flooring, loft, material property, property, real estate, room, table, wood, wood flooring, wood stain, gray, black

Easy to prep and cook in, with a apartment, architecture, building, ceiling, daylighting, design, facade, floor, furniture, home, house, interior design, living room, loft, material property, property, real estate, residential area, roof, room, window, gray, black

This black kitchen by Borrmeister Architects reads as apartment, architecture, building, ceiling, daylighting, design, estate, facade, floor, furniture, home, house, interior design, living room, lobby, property, real estate, residential area, roof, room, table, window, yellow, gray, white

What pantry? For this design, by Borrmeister Architects, architecture, beige, building, cabinetry, ceiling, countertop, cupboard, floor, flooring, furniture, home, house, interior design, kitchen, kitchen stove, laminate flooring, loft, material property, plywood, property, real estate, room, table, tile, wall, yellow, black, orange

For this kitchen by Borrmeister Architects, a small architecture, floor, flooring, furniture, glass, interior design, material property, room, space, tile, wall, black

Let there be light, runs the design adage, but what if the space allocated for your kitchen is already awash with natural light? Well, as with this clean-lined kitchen by whole-house architect Wulf Borrmeister, a different emphasis may apply.

The home was created for a developer who Borrmeister Architects had worked with before. Because of this prior connection, Borrmeister was to a degree given free design range on both the home and to an extent the generous kitchen.

“Being an investment build, the house had to offer a broad appeal and be well-suited for both family and entertaining,” he says.

“And the kitchen naturally plays a pivotal part in this, being centrally located at one end of the long, fully glazed, open-plan indoor-outdoor kitchen, living room and dining zone,” says Borrmeister.

“Essentially, we wanted the centrally located kitchen to have great looks and also achieve a feeling of intimacy, despite its open, light-filled surroundings.

However, it was important also that the kitchen kept its own sense of identity.

”To achieve all this, the architect created both the kitchen and the scullery behind as a distinct modern black insertion within the light-filled volume, which includes a double-height void.

“We introduced a substantial bulkhead at the front of the kitchen, above the island, largely to help delineate the space. "

"And with so much natural light in the entertainment zone already, we could afford to finish the kitchen in dramatic black – both serving to downplay it within the large space and also giving it an intimate feel.”

The perimeter cabinetry and bulkhead are in black-stained American white oak, with a warm wood veneer used on the front of the island, including for the corner display shelving. The veneer’s timber tone connects with the adjacent wood dining table, as well as built-in wooden shelving at the far end of the room.

With minimalist touches like push-to-open cabinet handles and recessed pulls, along with black fittings, a black glass splashback and fully integrated fridge, the kitchen really does recede to the eye. Even the scullery door is disguised as a panel to the left of the perimeter benchtop.

In contrast to the kitchen’s demonstrably dark livery, the same-size scullery is all in white.