Take the subtle approach to your kitchen design

Don’t use aggressively patterned materials – let the beauty of nature come through in the food being prepared, advises architect Nils Finne

A 2.5cm-thick glass counter sits at dining table architecture, building, cabinetry, countertop, benchtop, floor, flooring, furniture, hardwood, home, house, kitchen, wood flooring, timber, appliances, Nils Finne, Finne Architects, glass counter

Architect Nils Finne prefers to select subtle materials architecture, bar stool, cabinetry, countertop, glass benchtop, timber floor, furniture, home, house, interior design, kitchen, lighting, plywood, sink, Nils Finne, Finne Architects

Centrally located to form the social hub of architecture, timber ceiling, dining room, urniture, interior design, laminate flooring, wood flooring, Nils Finne, Finne Architects

Sliding glass doors open up the dining area architecture, courtyard, furniture, home, house, interior design, shade, swimming pool, Nils Finne, Finne Architects

The kitchen is located centrally on the back architecture, home, house, outdoors, pool, Nils Finne, Finne Architecture

When it comes to selecting materials for a kitchen design, architect Nils Finne has a strong preference to keep it subtle.

“There’s whole life to a kitchen that comes from the activity that happens in there,” he says. “The beauty of nature comes through in the food being prepared – if you have dominating or aggressively patterned materials, you can end up with visual chaos.”

The family kitchen shown here is a good example of Finne’s approach, with an island that’s clad in subtly patterned engineered quartz set against a backdrop of light rift oak cabinetry.

But subtle doesn’t have to be boring.

Finne injects a sense of drama to the 3.6m-long island by cantilevering it at both ends and floating a 2.5cm-thick glass breakfast counter on the front.

“The counter is set at a typical table height of 76cm instead of the usual breakfast bar height. Many people feel more comfortable sitting in a dining chair rather than a bar stool”

Lighting injects even more drama at night, with flush floor fittings uplighting the glass counter, while above the island is a custom designed, blackened steel light fixture which complements the island’s form.

At 8.5m wide and with a suite of professional appliances, the kitchen is designed for owners who are serious cooks. Plus there’s a very large, adjacent walk-in pantry.

The kitchen is located centrally on the back wall of the long linear home. In front is a dining area which can open to the pool through two 3m x 2.4m sliding glass doors, so it virtually becomes an outdoor space.