Mediterranean-style kitchen with transitional white cabinets, decorative tile backsplash

Twenty years after the kitchen in this Spanish-style house was built,the owner came back to the original design team and asked for "the same again please".

Designer Elina Katsioula-Beall says the owner, Rupert Perry, had enjoyed cooking and dining in the kitchen for two decades. But it was time for an update.

"Rupert wanted the kitchen to better reflect his more mature lifestyle it needed to provide more comfort and be welcoming for his children's families. Everything new, including the refrigerator, range and sink, needed to be a little larger, but it had to fit within the same space. The kitchen also needed to include two dishwashers, an additional speed oven, wine cooler and a commercial-grade juicer by the sink."

Katsioula-Beall says instead of making dramatic changes, the design focused on subtle transformations that reflect the owner's unchanging taste. The colour palette, for example, remains true to the original Casa California style of the house.

Pristine white cabinets and subway tiles are paired with a blue china hutch with a decorative Mexican tile splashback. And the original blue and white benchtops were replaced with blue Bahia granite that keeps to the colour theme.

"Other parts of the house feature solid wood beams, so we introduced reclaimed beams to the kitchen as well," Katsioula-Beall says. "We also used a recycled butcher's block that had been in the house for 38 years this is on the hutch benchtop. And we have added new reclaimed wood doors to the dining and laundry rooms that are in keeping with the look."

A narrow window seat was replaced with a comfortable, high-back leather booth that wraps around one end of the room to accommodate the extended family, and grandchildren. One side of the booth incorporates wine cubbies, while the other has a bookcase with speakers hidden inside.

"The original floor featured terracotta tiles that were rather hard on the feet," says the designer. "So we replaced these with white oak hardwood around the perimeter. This is more comfortable to stand on for long periods. But to retain a connection with the former kitchen we created a centre tile rug of reclaimed Spanish tiles with a decorative border. Similar decorative tiles, cut to highlight the central flower, are embedded within the textured hood. We also introduced the same motif to the centre section of the oak dining table, so that it can accommodate hot casserole dishes straight from the oven."

The designer says most of the project challenges were structural. Before much work could be undertaken, the 1930s foundations were reinforced and the old plumbing and electrical wiring replaced.

"The existing hood ducting had to remain, but this was concealed within a white textured soffit that turns and protrudes to form the hood surround."

Other decorative features of the kitchen include a trio of ceramic masks on powdercoated metal frames. These are suspended on a utensil rack above the range. The owner's collection of blue and white plateware and glass storage jars are also on display.

Story by: Colleen Hawkes