They were struggling to find the surface to put their small appliances, as well as food storage and felt like the space reflected none of their tastes. Family and friends were invited around often, and my clients needed better preparation capacity with more oven space and more efficient cooking top. The otherwise bright and stylish apartment seemed to lose its lustre in the kitchen area with dull beiges, dark corners and insufficient storage.
We began the design by picking the colour scheme. Ther home was decorated in black and white with pops of red here and there, so we decided to go for the same in the open plan kitchen. To get smart, clean lines, I suggested a handle less style which they fell in love with, and integrated appliances from Neff throughout to minimize the feeling of clutter.
Although there could’ve been more space left between the sink and the hob for a wider prep area, Dima preferred to have them closer for her personal convenience and leave a longer stretch of worktop for the multitude of appliances. To increase the storage, we added a Space Tower from Blum and tall height units, making use of every inch of space. To maximize the worksurface, I suggested a fold out mechanism with extra preparation top in one of the drawers, which the clients loved. A fully hardwired induction hob from Neff, an integrated powerful extractor and an oven + combination microwave stack provided double the cooking efficiency/capacity they had before for all their hosting requirements. We utilized every wall but kept the cabinets shallower where needed to the maximize floorspace.
Both clients admitted to being clumsy in the kitchen sometimes and prone to dropping things, so a solid stone worktop would not have worked for them, nor a granite sink. Warmer, more flexible materials like a laminate worksurface and a stainless-steel sink gave them peace of mind, as well as kept the budget on the lower side. The clients were very keen on the dark colour of the surface, so we balanced the brightness by scribing the cabinets to the ceiling and opting for a light concrete look LVT flooring – further simplifying the maintenance of the kitchen and aiding its longevity.
The main feature – a deep red glass splashback, was colour matched to work with their living room furniture, and gave the kitchen the flair it needed to fully stand out.