Cube shaped kitchen combines two-tone Poggenpohl cabinetry with stainless steel benchtops

Not every kitchen needs to disappear quietly into the open-plan vacuum some designs have a stand-out presence that's decidedly their own.

When Pepper Design was commissioned to build this kitchen for a spacious, modern house, designer David Kane knew it had to be special.

"The architect presented us with a stunning curved ceiling and three walls of glass so all notions of a typical kitchen design went out the window and the cube' concept was born."

Kane's idea centred around a freestanding 3m x 3m x 2.5m cube design. This sculptural element is supplemented by a bank of tall cabinetry set to one side, home to two Gaggenau ovens and a Variocool fridge and freezer.

The main cooktop bench and separate island are naturally at the front of the cube, while the butler's pantry is inside, with sliding glass doors on each side to it can be hidden away. The rear of the cube conceals five integrated glass wine fridges.

"In terms of surfaces, we used a rather subtle combination of Poggenpohl lacquer on Terra, a brown-meets earthy grey, and Pine Terra, a wood veneer laminate. Sleek 12mm stainless steel has been used on all benchtops, integrated sinks and as a finish to the sides of the island," says Kane. "This durable, low-upkeep surface also adds to the reflective quality of the kitchen within the light-filled space."

While visually self-contained, the kitchen also had to be considered in terms of cooking odours and extraction noise in the wider living space.

"To address these issues, we opted for a Sirius rangehood with external extraction for silent extraction of food vapours," he says. "An exposed metal spiral duct connects the rangehood to the outside world and adds a hint of industrial influence to the contemporary home."

Story by: Charles Moxham

Photography by: Johnny Angel