What do you do when your brief is to design the ultimate kitchen?  A kitchen that is family friendly, really practical and sustainable as well. A kitchen that includes the details as well as the bigger picture?  These clients were building a sustainable home and the kitchen needed to incorporate the same values.  This kitchen brief was very open and so were the possibilities!

End Result – a Curved Recycled Timber Kitchen

The end result is a kitchen with many hidden delights.  From a technical perspective, this kitchen encompasses differing ceiling heights, working with Passive House ‘sealing the envelope’ guidelines and curves.  This is not your average kitchen.

This is a solid recycled timber kitchen with plywood cabinetry and both a recycled timber bench top and custom made stainless steel bench tops.  The recycled brushbox island bench top had a former life as a basketball court.  No feet touch it now!  A stainless steel sink bench top adjoins the timber bench top around the internal compost bucket.

The sink area of the kitchen is hidden from view with a high cupboard with a concrete surround.  The cupboard provides storage for wine glasses and platters as well as a multitude of devices.

A plethora of drawers provide storage for pots and pans, dishes, spices and sauces and the bin.  The drawers can hold up to 40kgs of weight.  And what of the appliances?  They have a dedicated tall cupboard, with pull-out drawers for each appliance.

The pantry is a walk-in pantry featuring a curved barn door and fixed shelves inside.  A storage room holds additional pantry space.

And the dedicated coffee bar provides an out-of-the-way space to prepare a drink or a cuppa, away from the hustle and bustle of any kitchen preparation.

Art combined with practicality to create a family communications board; a space for notes, flyers and information. A combination of coloured glass and pinboard material for: magnets, markers or pins.

And what is the feature that has many sighing with envy?  Two dedicated recycling chutes to bins outside, no more double handling of the recycling!  Placed either side of the cooktop; it simply looks like a window above the cooktop.  A simple, yet very effective recycling system.

Other Little Touches

A custom made tea-towel rack next to the sink

• Two soap dispensers on the sink for both handwashing liquid and dishwashing liquid
• A second sink tap with a flexible hose for vegetable washing or to clean the stainless steel bench
• A small under-bench hot water tank for hot dishwashing water
• All drawer-faces in the island bench and the coffee bar are curved.
• Marmoleum lines all drawers, shelves and the pantry shelves

This kitchen provides space for family cooking and easy entertaining in a practical and beautiful setting that will endure over time.

Materials

• Birch ply cabinetry
• Recycled timber doors and drawers
• Recycled brush box island bench
• Custom stainless steel benchtops
• Matelux Glass and coloured glass
• Pinboard material
• Marmoleum