An Open Plan Kitchen - Balancing Granite & Copper
BRIEF - THE MITCHELL AVENUE KITCHEN
The homeowners for this large semi-detached established property needed a family and social kitchen. They were planning an extension to the rear of the property and installation of large bi-fold doors in order to create a open plan kitchen dining space. They knew they wanted a traditional kitchen style to match the age of the property but with a modern layout for their busy family lifestyle. And were very keen on being creative in the use of materials.
Before:
THE PROJECT
From the brief John McNeil, Haus12’s owner/designer knew that the material choices were key so invited the client to visit our stone fabricator to enable them to see the full size slabs of material to enable the clients to envisage the end result. From there they chose a material for an island with would be the primary feature of the space. Using that as a starting point the design centred around a large expansive kitchen island using the bold and organic Rainforest Green granite with heavy leather texture. The choice of such a strong dominating material led the rest of the design it was felt a simpler modern layout would balance out the design with a tall appliance wall at the far side and the large island taking the focus of the space. A dark graphite painted wood door complemented the bold natural stone worktop perfectly.
Before:
The client was keen to add a copper element into the space to accent the dark wood and compliment the green organic colours in the granite worktop. A 4-in-1 copper instant boiling tap was installed in the island alongside a bespoke copper breakfast bar, custom made by a local fabricator to our specifications. The lacquered and metallic copper finish added an industrial feel as well as adding to the glamour of the natural stone worktop. The wood doors were also finished with a copper cup handles to complement.
Inspired by the kitchen, the clients crafted their own unique island pendant lighting using a tree branch and oversized light bulb pendants.
Additional features to the kitchen were the reverse downturn to the end of the island to wrap a traditional style wood bookcase and the coffee centre built into a tall unit.
To summarise, this kitchen successfully brings drama and nature into a modern functional and social space by combining bold natural materials and textures to create a unique and stunningly beautiful open plan kitchen space. Using natural materials granite, copper, painted wood and the expansive bi-fold doors this kitchen genuinely brings the outdoors indoors.
We hope you enjoy!
Comments (12)
Related Discussions
Open plan kitchen diner confusion!
Comments (19)Hi, Firstly, I love the room, it has a lovely feel and the table, in my opinion, works really well. The issue for me is about zoning, you need to clearly define the spaces, open plan rooms need to have defined areas. The rug idea is really good idea but you need to make sure it is large enough to define the space and allow the chairs to sit on it even when pulled out. Have you considered putting a larger chandelier in to really define the space ? Something really OTT...... make a statement ! The windows would benefit from full length curtains even if they were dress only to frame the windows. These would soften the dining area and centralise the eye on the table / chandelier. The lights over the island are difficult to specify, if you put modern in the don't go with the dining room, if you put traditional in they don't go with the kitchen. Have a look at naval lanterns. The chrome ties in with the kitchen but the shape is essentially traditional. I use these a lot and they always look good, I hang them in groups of three or four. Love the black stools Jones 1987 have suggested. With regards to the back wall, pictures for me. Large black and black and white pictures. Adds interest and injects personality. Look at the mix of styles in this room, beautiful ! Hope that helps, Martin: www.angel-martin.com...See MoreOpen Plan Living/Dining/Kitchen Distribution
Comments (167)Hey! I've just seen the last comments. I live in Spain and there doesn't seem to be as much choice over here as there is in the USA after browsing at lot.. the Gubi light does look similar to one of the Tom Dixon beats shapes and I like the oriental vibe they give.. I am leaning toward that style for the pendants and will probably end up going with one. As for the splashback.. it's a nightmare.. I really have no idea.. I think dark like black and I think it will look to much and take away from the accents.. I think of grey and I think it's too boring and monocromatic.. I think of colour and I get scared lol.. really don't know and to be honest... I do regret going all white in the kitchen and not going with something darker or mid tone on the lowers at the back to ground it a bit more. I see so many kitchens on Instagram and Pinterest and I am always drawn to the darker ones.. but as I have a darker floor, I thought it would be too much. Anyway, it's done now and I guess we all have things we would do differently. I could always relacquer the lower doors quite cheaply if it came to it I guess. I really love Hague Blue by farrow and ball and have always wanted to use it but I think it wouldn't fit in anywhere and I'm not brave enough anyway🙈 Some good news is that I have finally managed to get the stonemason to change the island worktop which he destroyed after cleaning it with paint thinner.. after 4 months of fighting and the carpenter also finished up all the last details this week.. after 5 months. Stonemason has offered to give me a big discount on the splashback if I put a slab on the wall but really have no idea.. options are Dekton, Silestone, Neolith and Compac colours. By the way.. just saw this flat on pinterest and it reminded me of mine a bit but well done and with a more interesting kitchen.. trying to get some inspiration from it: https://hot-walls.ru/portfolio/сердце-столицы-99/ My favourite designs seem to all be Russian for some reason.. 😅...See MoreDesign help for open plan kitchen layout
Comments (11)Exciting times- I think side by side ovens have more presence and the island is a great place for the microwave. I don’t like seeing a microwave high up as I think it is dangerous. In fact you should put your ovens at a really comfortable height for you. I notice all of the designs show a draining board- personally I would choose an undermounted sink and no drainer to maximise work surface. I agree about putting the extractor in a cupboard- it doesn’t have to be a 600 cupboard though- I think it looks more luxurious if it is 20cm bigger than the hob. Consider if the 70/30 fridge planned is big enough. You could have a larder sized fridge and a freezer elsewhere. All of your designs show the breakfast bar sitting in an Lshape at the end of the bar- Personally I think that you should have the stools on the long side of the island so that they can see the TV, so you don’t have to have a cheap looking metal pedestal and so the stools don’t obstruct the sofa in the TV area. You have also shown the breakfast bar in a different material- if you want to use the island for food prep it might be easier to use and to keep clean if there are no differences in height and it is all the same material. If you want variety of materials in the kitchen you might choose two different cabinet finishes- perhaps one could be textured. I noticed the glass cabinets on one design- I would be careful about their placement because of getting steamed up. Lastly I felt the the designs with lots of vertical lines made the room seem smaller and I preferred the designs with uninterrupted horizontal lines....See MoreOpen plan kitchen layout help please!
Comments (25)Thank you all for the advice and suggestions so far. I've incorporated lots into an updated plan attached. This one is pencil to show more measurements. Things I've changed based on your feedback are: 1) Moving hob to other end of island to keep cooking area all in the same space. 2) Binned the American fridge in favour of separate integrated fridge and freezer 3) Centred the sink into the middle of the base units 4) Put a dish drainer above the sink to keep countertop free (seen on other discussions) 5) Moved island seating to opposite end to view garden. This is going to be our house for the next 15 years or more so think this would bother me if it wasn't. 6) Widened the island to 1200mm and shortened it to 2700mm. Doing this and moving the island 100mm closer to the side wall gives around 1200mm clearance to the 'chunk' structural wall that can't move. I love the idea of a tall cupboard being a breakfast cupboard as @pjdklm suggests to house, cereals, bread, toaster maybe even microwave. 600mm is probably too small so I could reduce the sink or base units by 200mm to make an 800mm cupboard between the fridge and freezer. Does this sound better? The sink run then would be 3000mm which matches the rooflights. @rinked and @Jonathan thanks for your suggestions and I like the simplicity of the latest design form rinked. However I'm not bothered about distance to washing machines from upstairs as if I'm using the back door, the first thing I'm doing is putting the kettle on. I also want to have the large back room and so don't need as much room for the study or hallway from front door. I take your points about the rooflight above the dining table but with pendants above the island, I'm not sure if I want anything else hanging down from the ceiling. Plus I guess we can always use candles and lamps etc and then we can look up at the night sky. We also have an east facing garden, so have great morning sunshine but if the rooflights were as close to the first floor (as in rinked's designs) they would be in shade by about 1 or 2pm....See More- PRO
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