Cabinetry
ext to a bank of integrated ovens, Barry designed the breakfast cabinet with a marble surface and power points for a coffee machine and juicer. “The doors are retractable and slot into the sides,” says Sawyer. “The cabinet is located near to the breakfast bar for easy access, and concealed lighting comes on when you open the doors.”
Do a whole pantry Walk-in pantry We all crave a big kitchen with a large walk-in pantry, such as a butler’s pantry. If you are lucky enough to have the space to incorporate a separate one into your kitchen plan, then this could be the perfect place to house all your small appliances. In the design stage, devote an area for a benchtop and make sure it’s deep enough to leave your appliances on, lined up and plugged in. Maybe you can create a baking centre, where everything you need to whip up some yummy muffins, from mixer to tin, is
Slide-out shelf If you decide to store your small appliances plugged in and inside a cabinet on the benchtop, it’s best to pull them out of the cabinet when you switch them on. This is particularly important for coffee machines, kettles and toasters. It avoids a build up of heat and steam inside the cabinet, which can cause damage to both your appliances and cabinet surfaces and joinery. Pulling appliances out of the cabinet is made easier with the addition of a slide-out shelf the appliances can sit on inside the cabinet. They slide both ways, so just push them back in when you’re finished.
Appliance centre If you have enough space in your kitchen, it may be possible to create a separate, designated appliance centre (with numerous power points) where all your small gadgets can be lined up along one wall of a benchtop, yet remain hidden behind the closed doors of a cabinet. The appliance centre can be hidden behind a roller door or, if it’s a fairly wide space, then behind bi-folding doors as pictured here. This is understandably more costly than a conventional shelf, but it’s extremely neat and convenient. Just open the doors and use the appliances where they stand – a far better option, I think you’ll agree, than allowing your kitchen whizzes to gather dust at the back of a cabinet. TIP: If you regularly bake or make juices and smoothies quite often, keep your mixers and blenders plugged in and ready to use at any time.
Tea station One of the most practical storage places for the most regularly used small appliances in your kitchen, such as your kettle and coffee machine, is a cabinet (with doors and shelves) built over a benchtop, especially at the wall end or in a corner of your kitchen. This allows you easy access to your appliances, but keeps them out of sight when they’re not in use. TIP: Have some power points installed at the back of the cabinet so you can leave the appliances plugged in and ready for use at a moment’s notice.
Why did you use curtains on the new wardrobe rather than doors? Having the curtain span wall-to-wall (across both the wardrobe and exterior door) is a versatile and cost-effective solution that adds texture and softness to the bedroom. It also controls light, boosts privacy and conceals the wardrobe without the need for a separate cupboard door.
you tend to access more often than others? For the owner of this space, it’s the pantry. In fact, she’s in and out of it so frequently that the doors are nearly always open, and closed only when the kitchen isn’t in use. Hannah Morris of Ian Dunn Woodwork & Design didn’t want the open doors to be in the way, so she came up with this clever design for her client. “We suggested pocket doors on here so they could be stored neatly out of the way,” says Morris. “Hinged doors would have really encroached on the walkway.”
Practise crowd management If you have a busy household, it’s a good idea to create more than one work zone in your kitchen, and position things you’ll use together in the same area. When Jane Powell at Roundhouse designed this kitchen, she incorporated a useful pantry cupboard with an extra benchtop inside for storing appliances, making coffee or preparing a snack, and located it right next to the fridge. By having a food cupboard, fridge and extra benchtop at one end of the kitchen, it makes life easier for the busy household. “If someone wants to make a sandwich and someone else is at the other end cooking, you’re not in each others way
Cabinetry for entryway and suitcase cupboard, and base of kitchen island
Integrated fridge wall
Q