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Mixed and warm material palette leads the way

A distinctive dining table with a striated top was the starting point for this kitchen design – artwork on the hood provided the finishing touch

While a well-designed kitchen must meet the functional needs of its owners, the process doesn’t always have to start with the practicalities. Sometimes, an object the owner wants to place in the finished space can turn out to be the starting point.

When designer Mick De Giulio was asked to create the kitchen shown here, the owner already had a very distinctive dining table and chairs that she wanted to include. As a result, De Giulio says he felt he needed to design the kitchen around them.

“We wanted to do something mixed and warm, so we got into the materials right away,” he says.

Based on the table’s striated top, he selected a warm white finish for the island cabinetry and overhead cabinets, stainless steel for underbench cabinets in the cooking zone, and a subtly veined quartzite for the countertops and backsplash.


​​​​​​​A simple symmetrical composition of cabinetry and appliances gray
​​​​​​​A simple symmetrical composition of cabinetry and appliances in the cooking zone of this kitchen by designer Mick De Giulio belies the level of detailing that has gone into the design.

A full-height bank of pantry cabinetry to one side of the kitchen adds a darker tone, with its panels in fumed Eucalyptus. 

But, here, De Giulio also breaks away from the simple symmetry established in the layout of the island and the cooking zone.

“Each of the pantry panels is a different size, so that wall is skewed from the rest of the kitchen in terms of its finishes and proportions,” he says.

Similarly, on the wall opposite, there are variations in the size and handle design of three tall cabinets that house the fridge, freezer and more pantry space.

​​​​​​​A wide strip of silicon bronze in the brown, white
​​​​​​​A wide strip of silicon bronze in the bank of tall cabinetry in a kitchen by designer Mick De Giulio not only helps break up the visual mass – it also provides a channel to house the ladder used to access the top cabinets.

Throughout the kitchen, the cabinetry is framed by wide silicon bronze channelling, that not only introduces a warm metallic tone, but also helps reduce the visual mass of the banks of cabinetry.

And while the table provided the starting point for the kitchen’s resulting material palette, that material palette then sparked the finishing touch on the hood.

The owner – an established artist – painted a canvas that picks up on tones throughout the kitchen, and this was mounted on the hood with a Plexiglass covering for protection.

“It pulls in the warmth of the bronze, wood and stone, and brings them together in a very abstract way,” says De Giulio.

Credit list

Architect
Mike Viamontes, Rugo Raff Architects
Builder
Legacy Custom Homes
Benchtop
Brushed Iceberg quartzite
Faucets
Dornbracht Lot
Ventilation
Custom hood by de Giulio
Dishwasher
Miele
Kitchen designer
Mick De Giulio, de Giulio kitchen design
Cabinetry
SieMatic Magnolia White matt lacquer with silicon bronze hardware; de Giulio Collection in fumed Eucalyptus with silicon bronze hardware; de Giulio Collection faceted polished and brushed stainless steel with polished stainless steel hardware
Sink
Kallista Multiere stainless steel sink, designed by Mick De Giulio
Refrigeration
Sub-Zero

Story by: Paul Taylor

Photography by: Dave Burk

12 Apr, 2020

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