People Choice Award - Kitchen of the Year

Over the weekend at this years KBDi Design Awards we have had some great success with this stunning kitchen design at our Northbridge project. Taking out People's Choice for Kitchen of the Year and NSW Medium kitchen of the Year 2017. 

Description of the House, its locale & occupants

Set in exclusive tree line suburb of Northbridge overlooking Sailors Bay this suburban Sydney home was built as part of a large development in the late 80’s. The home was truly dated and in need of some real attention.  The house was home to a family of five. Very busy professional parents, two teenage boys, and a newborn.

The Brief

The existing kitchen was placed in a narrow transition space between formal and informal living areas.  The clients questioned it’s location and asked the designer if they could assess the living room layouts and determine the best use of the spaces to create a more functional and aesthetically pleasing layout / kitchen for their family.

CLIENT REQUIREMENTS:

·      Create a functional open plan space,

·      Area for stools,

·      Hidden sink and dishwasher area,

·      Make sense of the floor plans,

·      Simplistic detail,

·      Natural warm palette with a use of Marble as a feature,

·      Integrated appliances Inc. wine fridge,

CONSTRAINTS: -

·      New space considerations (re-location)

·      Lots of appliances required

·      Small footprint with 3 entry points

Design Statement - How the requirements of the client brief were achieved & problems solved

Working through the existing spatial plans for the kitchen, dining and living rooms it was evident the kitchen was not in the right location for this family.  The designer chose to relocate the kitchen to an existing elevated space once occupied by a formal sitting room. Being elevated this room captured beautiful bay views and the entire rear yard and pool.  It also gave a clear sight to the interior spaces adjacent.

It was an obvious choice, one that would benefit the family immensely.

The new location allowed for a simple galley style kitchen.  As the room had three entry/exit points, this design allowed for a flowing accessible space with easy access onto the rear patio to BBQ, as well as onto the juliette balcony opposite for morning coffee, and also into the rooms adjacent the space.

The client had an unusual request for two sink areas; one in particular had to be completely concealed behind doors to hide washing up untidiness. Posing as a real challenge, the placement of one tall element on the left end of the kitchen served this purpose, coupled with a pocket bifold door system the operation becomes effortless and the doors unobtrusive when not in use.

To balance this tall element, an additional tall element was used to the right side to integrate fridges. These two elements together created symmetry to the design. 

With the two tall elements in place it made perfect sense to centralise the cooktop and underbench oven amid the space remaining. The benchtop depth was increased to house Blum 650mm runners to the drawers underneath. This maximised storage, as it was limited given all the appliances required.  Sleek overhead cabinets completed the elevation, all with push to open mechanisms making their opening effortless.

The remaining single bowl sink was centred on the island unit.  This enabled plenty of preparation space on either side. The island unit also houses the dishwasher and wine fridge.  The island can also cater to stools on the outer side, perfect for when the children congregate.

Finishes for this kitchen were kept minimal and natural.  Corian® in white was used for the benchtop due to its durability, ease of wear and light reflective nature. 

Honed Carrara marble slabs were used as a back panel to the island and splashback to add the natural sophisticated element.  It also complemented the schemes that ran in each of the bathrooms.  The timber veneer also added warmth to compliment the scheme and surrounding furnishings.  Black polyurethane overhead doors, backpanel and fittings were the accent.  Overall the look was just what the client requested – simple and natural.

Lighting completed the design. Gorgeous Ladies & Gentleman pendant lights were selected in brass to add sophistication to the kitchen, set in playful positions they added a touch of playfulness to the space.  Recessed LED lights are added to a new bulkhead & recessed pelmet to provide room uplighting and LEDs are used for task lighting under the overhead cabinets.

The kitchen has tied together the family’s living spaces.  The client is ecstatic with the results, and now is able to accommodate comfortably the many needs that their growing family require.

KITCHEN DESIGN; Is the working triangle still relevant?

Over the years all we have heard is "the working triangle" and how important it is to a functional kitchen but is the working triangle as it is so well know really that pivotal to a functional kitchen? 

The Modern kitchen design and lifestyle needs to take on modern contemporary approach to planning and design thought, we should be exploring the design and aesthetic yes but more so the function. In the 1980's a idea called open plan design and the working triangle where big things in kitchen design. Now in the modern kitchen design of 2017 we are now creating living rooms that consist of a kitchen, lounge and dinning room "the modern day living room" 

This approach to modern living and our needs to be connected to our love ones when we are at home is the driving force, we want our spaces to be open and light filled, connected to the outdoors. 

The good old working triangle is not a dead thought process in the modern kitchen, we actually feel the idea or concept has morphed into an new more engaging idea of the working triangles, thru cooking shows like Masterchief and star chiefs such as Jamie Oliver and co the kitchen is now playing more than a central role in our living and we are seeing more and more families cooking and engaging in the kitchen space than ever before. For this reason we feel the focus on a single working triangle is a out-dated thought process and the more innovative addition of a S to triangle (working triangles) allows for more than one person to function in the kitchen at the same time, creating multiple zones and triangles in the process. 

Active and passive, this is a very large part of the modern kitchen design, having areas that are passive such as access to cups which are directly located next to the fridge so when someone is active in the cooking zones the space can function, simile when at the cooktop cooking you want the spices next to you not in a pantry 2 to 3 metres away, this has taken on the term the dynamic kitchen. Blum have been educating the market place on this style or thought process for the modern kitchen for some time now and it makes a lot of sense in the modern kitchen design. 

The Living room is now a integrated space incorporating many functions and spaces. 

So let us know, do you think the working triangle is still relevant in the modern kitchen design or should we be thinking more of active & passive along with multiple working triangles. 

Potts Point Kitchen - Minosa

Apartment kitchens can be challenging; most of them have walls that close spaces down and ceiling that are at challenging heights. This Kitchen design and living room was just that. 

10 Years on our Bondi Kitchen has a new family

For those that know us know this project was a turning point for Minosa 10 years ago (2007); the Kitchen and the entire apartment renovation for that matter changed our view on a lot of things.

This apartment is testament to good design, design things well and they will serve you well whilst you live with it and ten when and if you go to sell they will still be in a amazing condition and thru good design practice the aesthetic will still be pleasing all these years later. 

Design life better with Minosa