Kitchen compact
Position your sink in between your bin drawers and dishwasher to make it easier to clean up and to empty, rinse and then stack your dishwasher. And keep your everyday appliances, such as the kettle, coffee maker and toaster, together and easily accessible to reduce the time spent (and steps needed) to undertake daily tasks.
To elevate your bin to the next hygiene level, ensure it is on a Blum Servo-Drive, so you can use a knee or hip to open the bin and not have to use your hands (which avoids the use of messy hands or cross-contamination when preparing food). Also position it adjacent to where you will be doing most food preparation so you can simply scrape the food scraps into the bin, rather than carrying them across a surface.
Cork floor colours If you’re not crazy about cork’s natural tan colouring, choose a stained finish. It’s available in a veritable rainbow of colours – from dark browns, lime-washed whites and pastels, right through to reds, blues and greens. This home, designed by Guild Architects and which took out an award for its enviro-credentials at the 2016 Sustainability Awards, features dark-brown cork flooring from Comcork. Easy on the eye and underfoot, this floor underpins the home’s sophisticated mid-century styling and picks up on the darker accents in the joinery.
Cork floor in the kitchen For existing cork-tiled floors, old oil-based sealants may have turned the tiles an orange colour. They may also have faded in sunny areas and darkened in areas covered by furniture, and there may be dents from wear and tear. Restoration is possible: call in a timber flooring professional who will give your cork floor a gentle sand and reseal it with polyurethane. Sealing is important – it adds durability, stops dirt getting ground into your cork and makes it waterproof.
Little or no natural light Solution: Under-cabinet lights will brighten the edges of the room and expand the sense of space, while providing task lighting on benchtops that may sit in the shadows of the overhead units. You could go one step further in brightening up the room and extending the sense of space by adding LED lights on the kickboards at floor level.
Flashy splashback This luxurious kitchen idea is going to take more effort than some simple herb styling, but the effect will be long lasting and dramatic. Better yet, you can do it yourself. By upgrading your plain splashback to a stunning metallic-tiled wall, your kitchen will be elevated to a new level of glamour. You can then raise the bar even higher by adding other shimmery metals through the accessories or fixtures, such as cabinetry handles and storage jars.
6. Know lighting is everything When it comes to interior design, lighting is possibly the most important factor to consider. Often overlooked or left to the end when it’s too late, lighting can make or break your design scheme. Good lighting makes everything look better and is essential for creating moods and highlighting focal points. A room will also function better with good lighting, whereas too much or too little light can be frustrating. Consider your lighting levels for different moods or times of day, factoring in ambient, accent and task lighting for different activities. Plan this well in advance, as it’s one of the first elements you’ll need to tackle. A well-designed lighting scheme, like the one in this beautiful kitchen, should work seamlessly. A room with perfect lighting looks great without you realising why.
11. Consider your options Can’t find what you’re looking for in the shops? Try thinking laterally and repurposing other items. In this quirky kitchen-diner, a garden trellis has been cleverly upcycled as a pot holder. The lack of kitchen space didn’t hinder the design, as the owners have made a feature of the rack in the dining area.
8. Store them on a shelf For something easy and versatile, you can’t beat the ubiquitous shelf. Consider the depth and width of your shelves, as there needs to be enough surface area for a wide pan. The neat joinery here has made the most of all available space and provides some roomy spots for cookware.
5. Put them where you’ll use them When you’re planning your storage, think about where you’ll use certain items. Pans, for example, are best stored near the stove – try an under-bench drawer, as here. In this well-planned kitchen, there’s also an oven directly opposite the stove that sits above more drawer storage for bakeware.
3. Access your corner cupboard In theory, a corner cupboard has plenty of space for storing bulky skillets and saucepans. In practice, though, it can be impossible to reach everything. Here’s the solution: a nifty pull-out mechanism that provides easy-to-access shelves for your cookware. The system works on runners and is attached to the door, so each time you open the cupboard, the shelves slide out with it.
Skip heavy handles Cupboard door hardware might seem like an inconsequential space-saver, but the visual effect of streamlined cabinets is important, as is the lack of handles to catch your clothes on in tight spaces. Look for designs with inset troughs to grip or choose slimline pulls that follow the line of your doors.
Make a tall order Why create a dust trap gap above your cabinets when you can gain valuable extra centimetres by extending them up to the ceiling instead? This sort of exact cabinet sizing is often only possible with bespoke joinery, but ask your kitchen provider about options and you may be lucky with an appropriate off-the-shelf size.
Placing and design of kitchen furniture
Cantilever eating area, compact living
Grey and Bright yellow For a sunny palette, try partnering yellow with a splash of rose gold accessories. The golden undertones of the yellow will pull out more of the radiant nature of rose gold, creating a brilliant and fun palette. Any shade of yellow works fairly well with rose gold – it’s like pairing yellow and orange.
The owners love to cook and have enjoyed experimenting with the new appliances and [having] ‘everything in the right place’,” says Wundersitz. “Guests often congregate around the centre bench or have a drink in the booth, which is in daily use for eating meals. It’s also often the spot to catch up on the news, email, enjoy a cuppa or have a chat.”
The cutlery and utensil drawer is meticulously organised with a Blum Orga-Line cutlery insert and knife holder, to keep everything in order.
Pots, pans, casserole dishes and mixing bowls are housed in a corner cupboard with drawers that slide in and out.
Fluid, sweeping and contoured lines and surfaces flow throughout Floyd and Hawkes’ kitchen with benchtops, booth seats and the dining table finishing with smooth curves.
A single sink with zip taps Vanessa Cook, design manager of smarterBATHROOMS+, which provides design services for kitchens and bathrooms plus other areas of the house: A sink is, of course, a necessity in any kitchen, but the inclusion of a single kitchen sink that is really wide is far more practical for cleaning than two smaller sinks, and it helps define and contain the ‘cleaning zone’ in the kitchen.
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