Lodge-like kitchen caters to all

One owner wants such and such, the other owner wants something different – requirements are reconciled with design cleverness in this family kitchen

A separate bar area complete with sink within

Shinnoki Walnut timber was introduced to advance the

The U-shaped shelf, by Powersurge, is in Antique

Porcelain benchtops, splashbacks and over cupboard undersides give

Removing the door between the scullery and kitchen

A refined display shelf is positioned close to

Designed by Mark Bruce, Designmarked Kitchens

From the designer:

The owners had a strong visual brief which was along the lines of a central Otago lodge.

However, the spatial planning brief was not so clear.

The house was designed for a large farming family with a lot of teenagers and all the meals were cooked by different members at different times.

One partner wanted the large scullery as per the architect's design to hide the constant mess, where as the other partner wanted an inclusive kitchen open to everyone at once – to hell with the mess.

Removing the door between the scullery and kitchen and having a common bench that wrapped around from kitchen to scullery proved to be the answer to this brief.

The kitchen is now open but has a hidden area.

That design change also allowed for the fridges to straddle both kitchen and scullery, an important consideration for a truly functional scullery.

With two working bench heights, 950mm and 870mm, the ergonomics for not only the specific tasks but also catering to the height variations across all the family members mean the kitchen is a comfortable place for all to work in.

Massive cool and dry storage supported the grocery buying patterns and the high turnover of food this large and busy family required.