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Room of the Week: A Kitchen Reflects its Setting Among Gum Trees

Tall gum trees, wandering farm animals, and embracing wear and tear comes together in this soulful kitchen

Vanessa Walker 9 August 2021

Houzz Australia & New Zealand Editor-in-Chief

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In a Q&A format, we talk to the designers – and examine the creative thinking – behind some of Houzz’s most loveable rooms.

Element Design Studio

Images by Andrew Pritchard of AP Photography
Answers by Michelle Ashley-Emile, interior designer, Element Design Studio

Who lives here: A family with three young children
Location: Perth Hills, WA
Scenario: This was part of an addition to an existing home. The original home is a double-story heritage-style home. The addition includes this kitchen as well as a new scullery, entrance, living area, dining area, study nook, powder room, main bedroom, walk-in wardrobe, ensuite, external bath, deck, pool, and extended deck.
Room purpose: The kitchen involved a newly built area for meals, food preparation, serving and gathering.
Kitchen budget: Approximately $100,000

The floor plan

Brief

The client wanted a functional kitchen that was well-organised and a large bench for the family to gather around. The client was after an extensive bin system to cover compost, hard plastic, soft plastic, landfill, roadside recycling and chicken scraps.
The kitchen has zone planning and has been designed to reduce unnecessary foot traffic between spaces.
Materials were chosen to change gracefully over time. With a home of three young children, my client wanted the materials to tell the story of their family even with a few battle scars; they wanted a different bench in 10 years’ time, with materials that evoke memories and stories.

Element Design Studio

Starting point
With 360-degree views of West Australian bushland, it was important to bring that connection into the home. The property is somewhat of a suburban farm. The area had to be durable enough to withstand the occasional chicken, guinea pig or peacock that may wander in – plus a growing family and a large extended family.

After going through many options for the benchtop design, we were able to find a supplier who was able to place formwork in-situ and pour the concrete bench on-site, rather than pre-fabricate it in a warehouse. This opened up the possibility of having a solid sculptural concrete bench, which we designed, and which brought the style aesthetic into the space.

Redesigning your kitchen? Find a specialised kitchen designer near you on Houzz to discuss your vision and the possibilities

Element Design Studio

Key design aspects

Colour palette:

Grey concrete and green leather, which connect to the gum trees outside.
Black details connect to the old grass trees on the property.
We were keen to reference the surrounding bushland, with surfaces that would age gracefully over time.
Raw and natural.

Element Design Studio

Materials palette:

Poured concrete benches to both the island and rear, designed by Element Design Studio, poured and formed by Hardcore Concrete Designs.
Blackbutt timber battens.
Birch ply cabinetry with black melamine internals.
Timber battens and ply specified by Worldwide Timber Traders and installed by 2001 Cabinets.
Floors are engineered Victorian ash.
Laminam Bianco Assoluto large-format splashback tiles.

Element Design Studio

Key pieces of furniture/fittings

Leather seating by La Forma.
Rakumba Capital Pendant light from Innerspace.
Internal hinges, runners and kitchen organisation from Häfele.

Browse more tactile and beautifully designed Australian kitchens

Thinking behind the arrangement of furniture/fixtures:
We designed the kitchen in zones: food preparation, cooking, storage, and cleaning zones. All of the tools required for each zone were easily reached and stored in that space, allowing the user minimum travel between zones when preparing a meal.

The vertical battens were a representation of the tall gum trees surrounding the home. This incredible height you feel as you walk around the property was something we wanted to replicate in the interior.

Element Design Studio

Challenges you worked around
The bench is heavy! An additional structural beam was required to reinforce the concrete island benchtop as the new addition was on suspended Hebel flooring. Because of the design and the length of the benchtop, the thickness of the benchtop had to be increased to 80 millimetres.

Visually, this gives a nice bold, sculptural look. However, with a dishwasher below, this lifted the height of the benchtop above standard. Removing the dishwasher lid as per the manufacturer’s instructions allowed us to get that bench height to a good working height.

Why do you think this room works?
A simple yet functional layout with zone planning makes this kitchen easy to work in. The bench is large and deep, great for casual meals, preparing, and serving. The materials palette is very tactile and you are drawn to touch it. It’s a nice added connection to the raw nature surrounding the home.

Your turn
What do you like about this kitchen? Tell us in the Comments below. And don’t forget to save your favourite images for inspiration, like this story and join the conversation.

More
Craving more great kitchen designs? Take a look at this Room of the Week: A Minimalist Retro Kitchen in Green