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5 Ideas From a Cutting-Edge Space You Can Use in a Home Reno
A creative workspace by award-winning architects offers up smart and affordable design ideas your clients will love
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When it comes to reno inspiration, it pays to take your cues from the best. Award-winning architect firm Kennedy Nolan recently turned its talents to a commercial workplace where it created an energising and inviting space using on-trend brights and woodgrain laminates from the Laminex Colour Collection. “These colours do something together that really excites us about working with laminate,” says Rachel Nolan, principal at Kennedy Nolan. “And the resulting design is a workplace that we’d love to use ourselves.”
The architects’ bold use of colour and innovative application of laminate provides all the inspiration you need to give your clients’ homes a fashion-forward look on a budget using a durable, low-maintenance material they’ll love. Here are five brilliant ideas you can take from this space.
The architects’ bold use of colour and innovative application of laminate provides all the inspiration you need to give your clients’ homes a fashion-forward look on a budget using a durable, low-maintenance material they’ll love. Here are five brilliant ideas you can take from this space.
1. A retro-inspired colour palette
Seventies’ styling is a major trend for 2021 and this palette, with its soft green Laminex Enamel, bright red Laminex Pillarbox and warm Laminex Sublime Teak laminates across the walls, furniture and accessories, captures it perfectly. The look is cosy, eclectic and playful – perfect for a relaxed family room or an open-plan kitchen/living/dining area.
To recreate this look, limit the palette to no more than three tones – a base woodgrain laminate and two contrasting brights – used across anything and everything from the kitchen island and dining table to built-in wall storage.
Laminex laminates are ideal for these applications; they come in a vast range of on-trend colours, textures and woodgrains and ensure surfaces are hardwearing and easy to clean. Use it on edging, to craft curves or create custom furniture – the options are endless.
Seventies’ styling is a major trend for 2021 and this palette, with its soft green Laminex Enamel, bright red Laminex Pillarbox and warm Laminex Sublime Teak laminates across the walls, furniture and accessories, captures it perfectly. The look is cosy, eclectic and playful – perfect for a relaxed family room or an open-plan kitchen/living/dining area.
To recreate this look, limit the palette to no more than three tones – a base woodgrain laminate and two contrasting brights – used across anything and everything from the kitchen island and dining table to built-in wall storage.
Laminex laminates are ideal for these applications; they come in a vast range of on-trend colours, textures and woodgrains and ensure surfaces are hardwearing and easy to clean. Use it on edging, to craft curves or create custom furniture – the options are endless.
2. Layers of natural textures
The architects have cleverly layered different natural textures in tonal hues to ground and add warmth to this space.
They lined a wall of built-in cupboards with woodgrain laminate (Laminex Sublime Teak), which adds subtle pattern and a natural touch. They paired it with a cork wall opposite (which doubles as a handy pin board) and large-weave sisal flooring underfoot. The result? An earthy base for the cheery red and blue-green laminate tones to sing.
The architects have cleverly layered different natural textures in tonal hues to ground and add warmth to this space.
They lined a wall of built-in cupboards with woodgrain laminate (Laminex Sublime Teak), which adds subtle pattern and a natural touch. They paired it with a cork wall opposite (which doubles as a handy pin board) and large-weave sisal flooring underfoot. The result? An earthy base for the cheery red and blue-green laminate tones to sing.
3. Curves
Curvy lines are key for the coming year, cropping up in everything from architectural features and furniture to artwork. The versatility of Laminex laminate makes it easy to embrace the shapely trend.
The centrepiece of this space is an eye-catching meeting table crafted from soft blue-green Laminex Enamel and bright red Laminex Pillarbox. The curvy tabletop, drum-shaped legs and exposed bright-red ends add softness to the space and an undeniable sense of fun – a look that would translate beautifully to a dining table or kitchen island in a home setting (you’d need to enlist the services of a professional cabinet maker to recreate this look).
Just as the architects have done here, it’s best to level out the curves in a room with plenty of sharp, angular lines – this adds balance and keeps all eyes on the curvy heroes of the space.
Curvy lines are key for the coming year, cropping up in everything from architectural features and furniture to artwork. The versatility of Laminex laminate makes it easy to embrace the shapely trend.
The centrepiece of this space is an eye-catching meeting table crafted from soft blue-green Laminex Enamel and bright red Laminex Pillarbox. The curvy tabletop, drum-shaped legs and exposed bright-red ends add softness to the space and an undeniable sense of fun – a look that would translate beautifully to a dining table or kitchen island in a home setting (you’d need to enlist the services of a professional cabinet maker to recreate this look).
Just as the architects have done here, it’s best to level out the curves in a room with plenty of sharp, angular lines – this adds balance and keeps all eyes on the curvy heroes of the space.
4. The importance of detailing
Never underestimate the power of those little details in a space – they can be surprisingly impactful. Here, the architects have given the door handles of the cabinetry wall a playful twist by crafting them in post-formed Laminex laminate and running them vertically from floor to ceiling. This elevates them beyond the purely functional to become a striking, three-dimensional design feature within the space.
For the architects, experimenting with different ways to use Laminex laminate in this project was a big part of the fun. “We really had to ask ourselves about this material and what it could do. There’s post-forming and cold-forming – so the idea that laminate can be both soft and round. But could it be a handle? Could it be an edge?” says Nolan. And the answer to both? A resounding yes.
Never underestimate the power of those little details in a space – they can be surprisingly impactful. Here, the architects have given the door handles of the cabinetry wall a playful twist by crafting them in post-formed Laminex laminate and running them vertically from floor to ceiling. This elevates them beyond the purely functional to become a striking, three-dimensional design feature within the space.
For the architects, experimenting with different ways to use Laminex laminate in this project was a big part of the fun. “We really had to ask ourselves about this material and what it could do. There’s post-forming and cold-forming – so the idea that laminate can be both soft and round. But could it be a handle? Could it be an edge?” says Nolan. And the answer to both? A resounding yes.
5. Play with contrasts
Bold, contrasting colours or textures (or both) are a great way to add depth and interest to a room scheme. Here, the architects added contrasting green edging to a red-lined display shelf – an idea you could easily translate to open shelving in a kitchen, the edge of a dining table, kitchen island or a built-in desk.
And colour isn’t your only option. Try edging a shelf or tabletop surface with a woodgrain laminate and see how it instantly ups the warmth and luxe factor in a space.
Featured in this workspace:
Wall joinery: Laminex Sublime Teak with handles in Laminex Enamel.
Table and shelf: Laminex Enamel and Laminex Pillarbox.
Carpet: Floorspace
Cork wall: Portugal Cork Co
Contributors:
Architects: Kennedy Nolan
Photography: Derek Swalwell
Stylist: Natalie James
Art Direction: Ortolan Design
Table Fabrication: Evolve Interiors
More: As seen here, get inspiration from the designs of award-winning architectural practice Kennedy Nolan using decors from the Laminex Colour Collection here
Tell us: Is this a look your clients would love to live with?
This story was written by the Houzz Sponsored Content team.
Bold, contrasting colours or textures (or both) are a great way to add depth and interest to a room scheme. Here, the architects added contrasting green edging to a red-lined display shelf – an idea you could easily translate to open shelving in a kitchen, the edge of a dining table, kitchen island or a built-in desk.
And colour isn’t your only option. Try edging a shelf or tabletop surface with a woodgrain laminate and see how it instantly ups the warmth and luxe factor in a space.
Featured in this workspace:
Wall joinery: Laminex Sublime Teak with handles in Laminex Enamel.
Table and shelf: Laminex Enamel and Laminex Pillarbox.
Carpet: Floorspace
Cork wall: Portugal Cork Co
Contributors:
Architects: Kennedy Nolan
Photography: Derek Swalwell
Stylist: Natalie James
Art Direction: Ortolan Design
Table Fabrication: Evolve Interiors
More: As seen here, get inspiration from the designs of award-winning architectural practice Kennedy Nolan using decors from the Laminex Colour Collection here
Tell us: Is this a look your clients would love to live with?
This story was written by the Houzz Sponsored Content team.
Design for life. Laminex has been part of Australian life for more than 80 years. Our commitment to design,... Read More
Design for life. Laminex has been part of Australian life for more than 80 years. Our commitment to design,... Read More
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The handles are very striking and add a great feature to a wall that would be completely streamlined. Have a bank of cupboards in our new house design which I had anticipated would be 'invisible', this is now going to make me have a rethink!