Green for go

It's a brave move to elect to have more than a subtle touch of colour in your kitchen, but for those who take the big step, the reward is a space with its own individual character.

Kitchen designer Mal Corboy was asked by the owners of this 1920s bungalow to design a kitchen with colour.

"Once the citrus yellow-green was chosen, we were well on the way. The owners wanted their new kitchen to be modern, and they liked the chic '70s feel of this colour," he says.

All of the underbench cabinetry in the kitchen is finished in an off-white, high gloss, cut and buffed lacquer and teamed with Corian benchtops in the same shade.

The requisite colour is introduced through the splashback and the door fronts on the upper cabinets, which are all custom made from green glass, as is the negative detail under the bullnose of the benchtop and another trim detail on the base of the toekick.

The same shade of green is repeated on the side of the island facing the dining area and on the front face of the rangehood, but with an extra twist. Here, a custom print of an abstract twig-like pattern, which has been laminated between two sheets of glass, is backlit to create an eye-catching feature.

"I find that blocks of colour are an excellent way to create strong visual lines in a kitchen," says Corboy.

The kitchen was fairly spacious, so there was plenty of room for the large 2.3m x 1.5m central island. It provides the owners with a generous entertaining hub that includes a wine fridge and bar seating.

Because the kitchen is part of the main living area, the refrigerator and freezer are integrated into the cabinetry for a furniture look.

Story by: Mary Webb

Photography by: Kallan MacLeod