Conversation piece

Seamlessly integrating this family kitchen into the living area enhances the social connection without compromising the contemporary aesthetics

Modern home features the lounge, kitchen & stairway ceiling, floor, flooring, home, house, interior design, living room, property, real estate, room, gray — Modern home features the lounge, kitchen & stairway

Contemporary dining room overlooking the kitchen nearby ceiling, dining room, interior design, kitchen, real estate, room, table, orange

View of kitchen area within this modern home countertop, interior design, kitchen, room, gray, black

Interior view of modern home's kitchen - Interior countertop, interior design, kitchen, gray

View of lounge and dining area within contemporary floor, flooring, interior design, living room, wood, wood flooring, gray, brown

View of contemporary kitchen with lounge & stairway apartment, ceiling, floor, interior design, living room, lobby, real estate, gray, brown

View from the lounge overlooking the kitchen area floor, flooring, hardwood, home, interior design, living room, real estate, room, brown

Open-plan living spaces may create free-flowing interiors, but they can pose a challenge for designers needing to accommodate several different functions within the one space.

Working closely with the architect, Bruce Stafford, right from the outset was the key to the success of this new home project, says interior designer Shellee Gordoun of Shellee Gordoun Interiors.

"The living space is large, but it needed to include the kitchen, a kitchen table, dining table and two living areas," Gordoun says. "We didn't want these areas to fight with each other, so we took a very integrated design approach."

Gordoun positioned the kitchen in one corner of the large space, anchoring one end of the joinery to a structural steel post that marks the edge of the kitchen. A dropped ceiling, which conceals part of the ventilation system, also helps to define the kitchen as a room within a room.

"I prefer to maintain strong horizontal lines in the kitchen," the designer says. "Because we didn't have the space for that layout here, I turned the integrated table top at a right angle to the island, layering the two countertops to enhance the kitchen's floating, linear look. The design also avoids having too many modular pieces in the kitchen, and makes the room appear larger, while keeping it proportional to the overall living space."

The cabinetry echoes the material palette of the living area, which features an engineered veneer with a limewash finish and shadowline detail. The visual continuity extends to a 5m-long wall of cabinetry to the right of the living area. This conceals the pantry and provides extra vertical storage.

Interior view of modern home's kitchen countertop, interior design, kitchen, gray — Interior view of modern home's kitchen

The engineered veneer is paired with dark-grey satin polyurethane cabinets, and a mix of solid oak and stainless steel benchtops. Gordoun says the mix of colours makes the cabinetry seem more like furniture, which fits with the formal living space.