Surface attraction

An existing Italian marble benchtop connects with stainless steel accents – touch-free handles and a pocket door pantry add to the clean look

Bi-fold doors complete the servery window. - Surface

The existing central island benchtop is Carrara Marble

A slender stainless steel perimeter benchtop connects with

The remodelled kitchen is open to the sprawling

The wine fridge couldn't be more conveniently placed.

Designed by Lara Farmilo, Euro Design Studio

From the designer:

The setting

Sitting snug on the water’s edge, this home was due a complete renovation which our homeowners undertook to provide themselves and their families many more years' enjoyment by the water.

What was once a stained timber ceiling was refreshed with a simplistic white whist, maintaining the texture of timber.

The kitchen

Our owners originally built this home over 20 years ago and wanted to maintain some existing features in the kitchen.

The central island benchtop is Carrara marble which had been imported from Italy all those years ago.

Its large, square form meant that the island could have functions from each and every angle.

The main side is home to the sink and dishwasher, while a steam oven faces the main fridge wall and a wine cooler faces the outdoor entertaining area.

Seating at the island allows for casual eating as well as offering recessed hidden cupboards where a mini hot water cylinder sits for the kitchen.

While the marble was a feature the owners wanted to reuse, they also requested stainless steel blocks on either end of the island.

This provided us with the ability to connect the island block with the back bench.

Here, we used a 5mm bead-blasted stainless steel work surface along with handles to match for all of the base units.

The tall cabinetry elements, including the Miele integrated fridge/freezer and wall units, are all controlled by motor drive to minimise the use of handles in the kitchen.

Our homeowners love to bake and a scullery would have been ideal but the space just didn’t allow for it.

So instead, we installed a double door pantry with pocket doors for their appliances and baking goods to be stored in.

The beauty of pocket doors is that you can leave them open while working in the kitchen.

A powerful extractor is concealed within the wall unit.

We wanted a halo effect around the perimeter of these units to create an evening backdrop once the work in the kitchen was done.

Porcelain splashbacks were selected to complement the natural marble island and to provide a texture on the vertical wall – emphasising the halo effect.

The practicality of our owner’s previous hanging rail was replicated in the new design.