Elegance and efficiency in a limited space

Designed by Lara Farmilo, Akzente

From the designer:

The homeowners wanted a kitchen that integrated into their apartment-style home, without any fuss but with strong elements of design.  They wanted a kitchen that they could be proud of – functionally and visually – when entertaining. Plus, they both lead busy lives and wanted to be able to enter and leave the kitchen easily.

As the footprint of the kitchen wasn’t overly large, the placement of appliances, storage and display areas was critical. The owners had a raft of sculptures they’d collected over years of travel and wanted them on show.

Overall, the owners wanted the kitchen to provide a subtle backdrop to their living area and as part of this we opted for minimal visible appliances. The Miele dishwasher and fridge/ freezer are fully-integrated. 

Even the ceiling-recessed rangehood has been hidden within a bulkhead which echoes the proportions of the island directly beneath.

Another request was for no seating at the island as the dining room is in close proximity to the kitchen.  This enabled us to create a block effect with the stone on all three sides of the island which gave it a strong sculptural presence and brought strong definition to the kitchen area.

The satin lacquer cabinetry helps to blend the kitchen into the backdrop whereas the structured/ layered timber and stainless-steel splashback panels provide visual interest –  along with the slim, finely brushed stainless steel plate shelving to one side of the kitchen for displaying the owners’ collected sculpture works.

The recessed LED strip lighting under the wall unit is unobtrusive but provides great task lighting for worksurfaces.

Lastly, the laundry was also renovated, using the same materials as seen in the kitchen to ‘continue the story’.

Story by: Trendsideas

Photography by: Mark Scowen