Life's a beach with this kitchen

Designed by Urbane Projects

Owner brief

The homeowner asked us to create a kitchen that provided enough working space in two zones. One was the main kitchen, visible to the upper floor dining and living rooms, and the other a scullery space large enough to prep, clean, store dry goods and keep appliances out for ease of daily use while being screened off from the living spaces.

We needed to located fridges and a wine fridge within the main space and include an area at the island bench for friends to congregate casually for coffee or a light meal.

Design Response

We really wanted to create a highly detailed but unassuming kitchen design that resembled furniture within this space rather that a “kitchen”.

We decided early on to refrain from using highly reflective materials like glass and tile to further blur the lines between the rest of the home and this space.

Taking cues from the architecture of the home, we also wanted to introduce soft curves in a tasteful and creative way.

We really did not want to draw attention to this area but instead wanted it to take a backseat to the home’s amazing views.

This was also the concept behind creating a sculpture-look island bench that blends into the space but also provided a visual joy and complements the wider design.

We used a sample of the beach sand from the beach directly in front of this home as inspiration for the colour and material palette for the whole home.

These sympathetic materials and finishes helped the space merge into its surrounding and also with the environment beyond the home – further reinforcing the context of this unique site.

Low sheen surfaces, white tapware and “driftwood” accent colours sit harmoniously over the “boardwalk” timber floor.

The dramatic location of this house and its absolute views required us to locate and align the kitchen to take in the views to the ocean to the west but to also address the living and alfresco spaces to the north.

With this design's orientation, the user takes in both when standing at the island in the centre of the working kitchen.

We located the cooking, cooling and washing areas closely to create a tight, efficient working triangle, and kept the scullery door-less for ease of ingress and egress between that space and the working kitchen.

By eliminating the overhead cabinets in the main kitchen and obscuring the rangehood we were able to lessen the bulk and provide wall texture continuity from the scullery out into the main space and dining room.

We also introduced a ledge in this area, providing a place for the owner to display personal items. This also makes the space feel less like a kitchen.

The island bench, beautifully sculptured but monochrome in white was designed with the seating to the end of the kitchen. This positioning takes the user closer to the view and removes the need for overhang at the back as is commonly done.

Introducing soft curves and removing the sharp 90 degree edges was both a reflection of the overall home’s design cues and a truly customised use of materials.

Story by: Trendsideas

Photography by: Jody D'Arcy