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Design Dilemma Renovating Kitchens

Advice on how to finish freestanding kitchen wall

5 years ago

Hello everyone!

Well we've been busy renovating as per our topic a few months back and having mostly a lot of fun, but I've got a problem in visualising the best way to finish off the partition wall for the kitchen.

It's a 90mm thick wall, which sits between the kitchen and hallway, and faces directly towards the front door. The left hand side of the photo up against the ballistrate also needs to be finished perhaps in the same manner. I've attached a floorplan with markings to help.

Originally I was going to just gyprock and paint it, but we've had suggestions this might make it look like an afterthought or obvious reno.

The two other suggestions I've had have been to run a piece of hardwood floor to ceiling and finish it with that, and match the stain/timber to the stairs. Or, run it from the floor each side to the height of the ballistrate, then gyprock above.

For reference, the kitchen will be built into the room (left) around the wall, and the benchtops will finish on a 45, allowing unobstructed access into the room. It will have a concrete look stone benchtops, with a mixture of white and a few grey cupboards. The floor will be wood look tiles, which are mid grey (I'll attach another photo).

We would really appreciate any ideas you may have, and please let me know if this doesn't make sense and I can provide more information. Thanks!!

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Comments (2)

PRO
Dr Retro House Calls
5 years ago
I think the answer to this question is actually in your current kitchen. Go and check to see how many coffee cups, plates, and clutter there is around your kitchen sink right now. Then imagine your kitchen sink as it is on a typical day in full view of anybody who comes to visit, and everytime you come through the front door.

I would resolve a solution that conceals the messy bits of the kitchen in a simple, clean manner, without introducing extra wall treatments that will draw attention to the issue. Depending on the head clearance above the stairs I would consider extending the diagonal wall between the pantry and the stairs until it intersects with the full height wall behind the sink.

This diagonal wall extension would extend over the lowest part of the stairwell void so you will need to be sure about head clearance heights. In this diagonal wall there should be an opening that is a similar size to the opening required for a door so if necessary you can retrofit a door separating the kitchen from the entry at a later stage. As this new doorway is on a diagonal wall to the entry you will get a glimpse towards the end of the kitchen island bench (which follows the same 45 degree geometry) instead of a panoramic view of your kitchen sink clutter.

Bluff House Kitchen, Dining · More Info

Best of luck,

Dr Retro

of Dr Retro House Calls
Lee & Laura
Original Author
5 years ago
Thank you for the informative post Dr Retro.

We certainly had no considered that style of wall layout, and I can see the merit in it. However I've had a play with the angle above the stairs (pushed a sheet of gyprock through the ballistrate on the matching angle), but unfortunately it's a bit disconcerting when walking down the stairs.

We are likely to be putting a butler's pantry with sink into the pantry when those walls go up, so I'm hoping that we can train ourselves to be a bit tidier in considering your points. For now unless there's any other suggestions I think we might just sheet those ends and wait to see how it looks once the kitchen and floors are in and finished.
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