Cunningly concealed

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With good storage options and specialist zones, this kitchen is practical and efficient to use

Kitchen with storage options. From the back (left), ceiling, countertop, interior design, kitchen, room, brown — Kitchen with storage options. From the back (left), a back hallway is incorporated into kitchen space. A circular light is installed at the top of the hallway. Following from that is a small space of home office use, with 4 levels of shelves. Under the top 3 levels are small lighting installed in them. Starting from the bottom, that level has a flat case and a couple of black ornaments and some switches on the wall. Above that level are some books and a decorative item, and on the 3rd level is a long plant. At this area is also a wooden stool. Next to this space is a refrigerator, with a doorway leading to other parts of the house next to it. Through the door is a stairway leading upstairs. Back into the kitchen, there are a number of cabinets and drawers behind the island. On the island itself, you can see a sink, faucets, a butcher's block in the middle, and a platter of fruits at one end of the island. On the farside of the island, there's also a breakfast bar built into it and has an opened book on it. More cabinets are on the island. You can also see the lighting above the island.

Kitchen with lots of storage options. The island cabinetry, ceiling, countertop, interior design, kitchen, real estate, room, brown

Cabinets on the left with an appliance cabinet cabinetry, ceiling, countertop, estate, floor, flooring, hardwood, home, interior design, kitchen, real estate, room, brown

Kitchen designed for storage options. From left: pantry countertop, furniture, interior design, brown

Kitchen leading out onto a covered patio. Outside: ceiling, countertop, home, interior design, kitchen, real estate, window

Older homes are frequently divided into a number of small, separate rooms, and the kitchen is a prime example. It is often a cramped area, isolated from the dining and living spaces, perhaps with an adjacent laundry, covered porch or back hallway for storage of coats and boots.

Removing a couple of walls, reorganising the space and introducing good storage options was architect Richard Lundin's solution for improving the kitchen in this 1940s home.

"Originally, the kitchen was small with little cabinet space and poor work areas, the dining room was a separate room, and a narrow hall for coat storage ran behind the kitchen," he says.

The architect removed walls between the rooms and organised the kitchen into several specialist zones for different tasks, each with its own storage facilities. An adjacent screen porch was retained.

"By taking out walls we have deformalised the kitchen, so it now engages with the rest of the house. You can see the fireplace in the living room from the kitchen, and from the living room you can look out to the screen porch," he says.

"The space feels much larger, and with three work areas the whole kitchen is more efficient to use."

A central island, which looks towards a river nearby, is the primary working area. People can gather around it and converse with the cook.

A butcher's block is set into the island at a lower height than the rest of the benchtop to make chopping easier. A pull-out drawer below contains a garbage bin, a convenient way to deal with scraps.

On the other side of the maple butcher's block is the baking centre, close to the dry goods pantry and storage cupboards for baking tins.

Because the owners are keen coffee drinkers, the architect has included a special area for the coffee machine. Storage of coffee, cups and other coffee-making utensils is provided in small, purpose-designed drawers and pigeonholes.

Another area is designated for the home office and includes a desk and storage space for bills and other paperwork.

A warm, colourful palette makes the kitchen feel bright in spite of its limited natural light. Colour also helps to signify the different areas in the kitchen. Green identifies the fresh food and working areas of the kitchen, while yellow is used as an accent colour around daylight areas such as the windows and doors. Mud areas are painted blue and neutral tones form the background colour.

Manufactured quartz benchtops and maple for the drawers of the coffee centre and appliance cabinet draw the eye to this busy part of the kitchen.

"The natural maple finish and more refined joinery, with the high level of detailing of the dovetail-jointed boxes, emphasises this area," says Lundin.