Contemporary kitchen with marble benchtop

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With a fully equipped working scullery tucked out of sight, this kitchen in a new home is essentially two in one

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With kitchens sitting in the limelight, they need to be so much more than just functional spaces.

Kitchens are busy family spaces, which can make it hard to marry the aesthetics with the functionality.

The solution for this house, designed by Steve Gliosca of Urbane Projects, was to separate the working space from the front-of-house kitchen.

"This is a very modern, clean-lined house, and the kitchen is the focal point of the living space," Gliosca says. "For this reason, it was important not to clutter it up with meal preparation. But the owners love to entertain and needed a big kitchen, with every modern convenience. This prompted the decision to introduce a separate large scullery behind the kitchen.

"The scullery is not just a place for storage with its 90cm freestanding oven, sink and dishwasher it can be used for total meal preparation and cleanup."

All eyes are on the glamour kitchen, however, where the centrepiece is a large island with a polished marble top and bronze mirrored panels front and back.

"The colour and material palettes started with the jarrah floor, which was stained in Japan black," says Gliosca. "We played with a number of different timber laminates before choosing a grey with an undertone of chocolate. But the marble slab is the hero its colour and veining are a perfect match for the cabinetry and the Caesarstone quartz perimeter benchtops and splashback."

The marble top sits on top of a large, sculptural block, with a cut-out space that can be used for displaying accessories.

"It's a very layered look, which adds visual interest," the designer says. "This end of the island was also designed to provide a point of difference you glimpse the kitchen as you walk up the adjoining stairs to the living room, and we didn't want it to look too functional."

The main kitchen also features two banks of white lacquered cabinetry, which Gliosca framed with the timber laminate. This was extended around the corner to create a matching buffet-style area opposite the lift. The refrigerators are fully integrated, and the drawers have recessed pulls to reinforce the crisp, modern look.