White and wood kitchen features skylights and mirror on splashback and island front

Location is as important a consideration for a kitchen designer as it is for the home buyer. This kitchen, part of architect Craig Rossetti's own home, responds to its setting in several ways.

"We sited the kitchen at the side of the home using setback space to neighbouring properties that would otherwise be potentially wasted.

"The kitchen works well in the low-ceilinged space and the large opening to the double-height dining and living space gives it presence there without having to be a tall space itself," says Rossetti.

This location also provides sightlines from the kitchen to the outdoor dining room and right through the living area to the pool beyond.

It's well connected in other ways too. A walk-through pantry to one side opens directly to the garage for the quick unloading of groceries. Extending out in the other direction, the laundry is set up to act as an overflow for the kitchen when catering for large events. Both these ancillary spaces also work well under the low ceiling height required in this area and can be closed off with pocket sliders.

Complementing rather than competing with the great room, the kitchen is finished in white under-counter perimeter cabinetry which offers a visual break between the travertine floor and the overhead wood-finished cabinets.

"On a reasonably tight site, we chose the mirrored splashback to confuse the perception of the edges of the property creating a sense of a larger space," says Rossetti.

And this material relationship white, wood and mirror continues into the laundry, pantry and the home's main bathroom.

"The vertical striations on the upper wood cabinets meant we could have wide or narrower cabinet doors as required, without detracting from the overall look. For example, the exhaust fan was accommodated and concealed behind a broad upper cabinet."

Front of space, the substantial waterfall island is also white with a mirrored front panel. Here, the mirror blurs the line between dining area and kitchen and enhances the feeling of space in the large room by reflection. Two ovens are located in the business side of the island.

Operable skylights flood natural light down on the kitchen's expansive work surfaces and assist with important cross-ventilation needed over the summer months.

Story by: Charles Moxham

Photography by: Andrew Ashton