The Loft

The Home Base blog

Clever Kitchens

Express yourself with some creative kitchen choices and create a stand-out cooking and entertaining zone

22.01.2020

Image: Veejay’s Renovations

Creating your dream kitchen should be a fun experience, take your time to plan and make sure you seek advice from the experts. There’s so much out there that you won’t find out about until you talk to people who design and build kitchens for a living.

One of the most important things to consider when designing your kitchen is it needs to go the distance, so when making big purchase decisions, it is a good idea to choose quality fittings and styles that you personally love, rather than trying to follow trends which will come and go.

Not only are there many finishes, fixtures and design options available to help you create a truly bespoke kitchen that perfectly reflects your style and needs, you can also access a raft of gadgets to help make life easier.

Image: Kitchen Capital WA

“To create a stand-out kitchen, you need to have one wow feature that will draw the eye to your kitchen, whether that be a feature splashback or some stunning lighting,” says Mark Wood from Veejay’s Renovations.

“Remember your kitchen is the hub of the house and one of the most used rooms within it, so make sure you create a look that makes you happy to be in and draws you in. It needs to be a space you enjoy so that you can really get creative.”

“I think if you can have a nice big island bench with a beautiful feature benchtop, it will then create a great workspace, social space and somewhere the family can gather and catch up,” Mark says.

“Also include some nice seating so it is multipurpose and can be used as an informal dining table.

“You can never over-capitalise on a stone kitchen bench surface. It will look stunning, be long lasting and very durable and there are so many fantastic colours and options to choose from so you can express yourself.”

Mel DeMelt of Town & Country Designs, says: “Custom-built kitchens are planned down to the millimetre and this takes planning, experience and time but it is well worth it in the end.

“Get help from an expert and someone who has plenty of experience because there is a lot of work in ordering materials and installation and that means things can go wrong.”

“But if you do take the time to add details and finishing touches, you will benefit in the end. Make sure all your items are ordered as early as possible, things like the beautiful high ceramic fireclay sinks are stunning but they do need to be with your cabinetmaker well ahead of schedule. A professional knows those tricks and they’ll be able to help make sure everything goes smoothly.”

Image: Town & Country Designs

Kitchen Capital WA’s Sue Jansen says a mixture of materials always creates an outstanding kitchen. “As most kitchens are open-plan to living areas, selecting colours and timber in features picked from surrounding furnishings and combining them into the kitchen makes for a well-blended space that can exude elegance or character,” she says.

“Lighting can be used to not only illuminate working areas but to accent or highlight materials.

“Special attention should be paid to the cooktop area as this is generally the focal point of any kitchen.”

“The splashback is often a focal point and many clients choose to make a feature of it,” Sue says. “Stone as a splashback can be an opulent and beautiful eye-catcher. A popular choice for this area is the Carrara marble-looking stone.”

“Glass and tiles come in so many options that you are spoilt for choice when making a decision. A big piece of brightly coloured glass can make the kitchen really ‘pop’. Another clever option if you want something really unique and a certain talking point, is to have a pattern or photo embedded in the glass.”

“A walk-in scullery/pantry not only gives heaps of additional storage but allows you to clear away any mess from an open-plan kitchen before guests arrive,” Sue says. “It is a separate room that can house noisy appliances like a Thermomix or blenders which may otherwise disturb in an open-plan kitchen.”

Image: TM Kitchens

Case study: Ocean Reef

Ocean Reef couple Rainer and Jan knew it was time to renovate their kitchen so they set about talking to the experts and getting some quotes.

“The existing kitchen was about 15 years old and we knew we needed something new but we didn’t know exactly what we wanted,” Jan says. “The most important thing to me was quality and when we spoke to Damien at TM Kitchens, we were convinced that was what we would get.”

Jan says she and Rainer were open to suggestions and they love the end result. Their new kitchen is functional and contains top-quality working parts.

“When people come to visit, they are drawn to the kitchen,” Jan says. “Everyone who comes in is blown away. They just want to congregate there and I think it is because it has clean lines and it is quite bold and it makes a statement. I love the glass.”

“I like the details, like the hinges which are superior quality,” Rainer says. “Damien really created a statement for our kitchen and we love it.”

Find kitchen showrooms for Veejay’s Renovations, Kitchen Capital WA, Town & Country Designs and TM Kitchens at Home Base.