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Room Of The Week
Before and After: An Open and Calming Kitchen in a Light Blue Hue
Calming colours, Shaker style and woven pendant lights combine for a relaxed yet detailed classic-coastal kitchen
In a Q&A format, we talk to the designers – and examine the creative thinking – behind some of Houzz’s most loveable rooms.
Brief
The living space was intended to be naturally bright and have a feel of openness and calm. The cathedral ceilings add dimension to the room with the height to the ridge being approximately 4.5 metres. The space needed to accommodate a beautiful new kitchen with a walk-in pantry, dining space and a living area for everyday use and functionality.
Looking to redesign your kitchen? Find kitchen designers near you on Houzz, browse images of their work and read reviews from previous clients
The living space was intended to be naturally bright and have a feel of openness and calm. The cathedral ceilings add dimension to the room with the height to the ridge being approximately 4.5 metres. The space needed to accommodate a beautiful new kitchen with a walk-in pantry, dining space and a living area for everyday use and functionality.
Looking to redesign your kitchen? Find kitchen designers near you on Houzz, browse images of their work and read reviews from previous clients
The kitchen before works
Starting point
The project’s starting point was the idea of the cathedral ceilings that the client had always wanted.
The project’s starting point was the idea of the cathedral ceilings that the client had always wanted.
Key design aspects
Colour palette: Pale blue, white, black and timber.
Materials palette:
Colour palette: Pale blue, white, black and timber.
Materials palette:
- The Shaker-style kitchen cabinets were finished in Dulux Milton Moon in a matt finish.
- Stone benchtops are in White Swirl from Quantum Quartz.
- The splashback was finished in 150 x 150-centimetre matt ceramic tiles with a misty-grey grout.
- Pendant lights from Beacon Lighting.
- Kitchen knobs are by Hepburn Hardware purchased from Schots Home Emporium.
- The kitchen sink is from Abey.
- Oak flooring was laid throughout the home.
- Owners’ own stools.
Challenges you worked around
The main challenge with this project was the steel structure required to construct the cathedral roof. Access was difficult so the structure had to be installed manually by lifters as opposed to cranes.
Combining the existing structure of an old house with new construction is always a challenge. Older homes have a tendency to be out of level vertically and horizontally, so all these constraints need to be taken into account when extending and renovating.
Browse more beautiful Australian kitchens with Shaker-style cabinetry
The main challenge with this project was the steel structure required to construct the cathedral roof. Access was difficult so the structure had to be installed manually by lifters as opposed to cranes.
Combining the existing structure of an old house with new construction is always a challenge. Older homes have a tendency to be out of level vertically and horizontally, so all these constraints need to be taken into account when extending and renovating.
Browse more beautiful Australian kitchens with Shaker-style cabinetry
The adjacent area showing the kitchen before works
Why do you think this room works?
I think this room works really well and met the brief because it provides a nice open-plan space, yet is still cosy enough not to feel too big or empty. It provides an abundance of natural light and the finishes and colour palette gel together. Overall, I was really happy with the result, but ultimately the client is too, and that’s the goal.
I think this room works really well and met the brief because it provides a nice open-plan space, yet is still cosy enough not to feel too big or empty. It provides an abundance of natural light and the finishes and colour palette gel together. Overall, I was really happy with the result, but ultimately the client is too, and that’s the goal.
Your turn
Tell us what you like most about this kitchen. And don’t forget to save your favourite images, like this story and join the conversation.
More
Can’t get enough of home makeovers? Read this Before & After: A 9-Square-Metre Studio & Not One Right Angle
Tell us what you like most about this kitchen. And don’t forget to save your favourite images, like this story and join the conversation.
More
Can’t get enough of home makeovers? Read this Before & After: A 9-Square-Metre Studio & Not One Right Angle
Answers by Paul Leung, director of Blackburn Bathrooms and Kitchens
Who lives here: A family with three children
Location: Donvale, Victoria
Kitchen and interior designer: Blackburn Bathrooms and Kitchens
Budget: $350,000 for a new extension and renovation including the kitchen and living area.
Room purpose and size: The kitchen and open-plan living space is approximately 60 square metres in total.
Scenario: The extension and renovation was started in 2018 and completed in 2019. The project had a duration of seven months.
The scope of work was a significant extension and renovation to the home. It included the addition of the large living quarters at the back of the house with an additional master bedroom and ensuite, new powder room and laundry, oak flooring throughout, full repaint inside and outside, a new deck to the rear, and decking to the front verandah. The showpiece of the home is the kitchen and living space with the cathedral ceiling.