Description of the House, its local and occupants
Set in
the leafy suburb of Epping and backing onto national park and Terry’s Creek,
this modest split-level terrace was in drastic need of a facelift. Built in the
70’s by the Australian Navy, the tri level homes internal spaces were small and
under utilised for today’s modern living requirements.
The occupants
of the home are a self-employed and VERY busy single mum and her teenage son. With
not alot of time for domestic duties, her brief was simple… a clean, simple modern
functional kitchen that could conceal a laundry and home office area. The only must on her list was stainless steel
benchtops – her favourite.
KBDi Designer – Small Kitchens NSW 2013 - Darren Genner
About this winning entry: The clients wanted a clean, fresh kitchen to cater to modern living requirements and exude understated elegance. The space had to integrate a home office and laundry, as well as an everyday eating area for at least two diners. The judges said that this very pleasing and innovative design shows exceptional use of limited storage space.
The Brief
To
create a clean & modern kitchen one that catered to modern living requirements.
The space had to integrate a home office & laundry as well as an everyday
eating area at least two. All this
within its existing footprint. A
challenge in the making!
CLIENT REQUIREMENTS:
· Open plan
· Home office &
laundry integrated
· Clean and fresh looking
- a white kitchen??
· Understated
elegance
· Good storage – use
of space
· Variable lighting
plan – layered lighting including mood
· Stainless Steel
benchtops- a must!
CONSTRAINTS:
·
Two
doorways
·
Home
office and laundry requirements
·
Small
footprint & floor space limited.
How the
requirements of the client brief were achieved & problems solved
As far as layout goes there really was not a lot of flexibility
with the footprint of the kitchen, it could not be changed or relocated. It was
a matter of making use of the available space and organising the zones so they
would function efficiently for this family.
The designer chose to place the tall run of joinery items
under the existing bulkhead (carpenters had recently commenced renos). This was
the first thing on view when entering the terrace. These full height doors
house the laundry nook, home office (behind pocket bi-folding doors) & integrated
refrigerator. All nicely tucked away when not in use. The use of a beautiful
rich reddish timber veneer complimented the pendant light selected as well as
being the clients’ favourite colour.
The sink was placed under the window and the cooktop
adjacent creating the perfect working triangle with plenty of preparation space
in between. To free the splashback of penetrations, and keep the visual clean a
pop up GPO was placed in this corner to assist in prep.
The former fridge cavity made the ideal zone for conceal
the “breakfast nook”. It keeps some of
the everyday small appliances such as toaster and kettle concealed from view;
this area is also home to the oven and microwave. LED lights have been installed for task
lighting here so there are no working shadows and also above the microwave to
fill the area with room light.
Lighting was important requirement to our client. It
was decided to create a multi layered lighting scheme. This way the client
could light the space dependant on her mood and task needs. The primary room light was the LED up light
& task lighting, next halogen adjustable heads are ceiling mounted to
function as task light and finally oversized E27 bulbs with a splash of colour on
the cord are the feature pendant light over the meals bench. The LED up lights
not only provide much need room light, they help to make this tight footprint
feel that much larger by creating a real sense of scale (especially up into the
rack of the ceiling). The adjustable
head halogen lights have been installed with a narrow beam globes so that it is
filling the benchtop with light, not flooding the room with unnecessary
secondary beam.
Finishes selected lift and warm the interior. The client conveyed wishes for a white
kitchen (in her eyes this represented fresh and clean). Not a favourite choice with
the designer but understanding of the clients reasons (behind her request) the
white was selected for the base cabinet and wall unit fronts and splashback
only. Tall units were a selected warm
red veneer. Once teamed with the stainless steel benchtop in a 18mm thick profile
and a recycled piece of Blackbutt solid timber for the server/meals bench
installed on a custom designed and made stainless steel frame it all worked
harmoniously together.
When deliberating about whether to run overhead
storage units in the space, the designer had a few considerations to
ponder. The client was only 1.5m tall to
start and it would perhaps cut-off the visual height of the racked
ceiling. It was decided instead to finish
them short to create an asymmetrical balance to the room. The Blum Aventos
(electric opener) was selected on the left unit, so the doors could be open
completely away to prevent any head collisions.
The overall space has been transformed. A clean minimal
palette along with the layered lighting plan helps to bring a real sense of
scale to the space. Clean and crisp in appearance
this space has fulfilled the brief of understated elegance and re-instated the
kitchen as the real hub of their home. A
place where they now come together and enjoy life.


Clean & Simple lines - Small kitchen by Minosa
KBDi Designer – Small Kitchens NSW 2013 - Darren Genner
About this winning entry: The clients wanted a clean, fresh kitchen to cater to modern living requirements and exude understated elegance. The space had to integrate a home office and laundry, as well as an everyday eating area for at least two diners. The judges said that this very pleasing and innovative design shows exceptional use of limited storage space.