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Room of the Week: The Modern Farmhouse Kitchen of Your Dreams
This graceful farmhouse kitchen drew its inspiration and colour palette from the garden to achieve a serene space
In a Q&A format, we talk to the designers – and examine the creative thinking – behind some of Houzz’s most loveable rooms.
Brief
To create a modern farmhouse-style family home with intimate spaces, where there can be meaningful interactions, and really functional spaces that cater to today’s lifestyle demands.
Find an interior designer near you on Houzz to redesign your home
To create a modern farmhouse-style family home with intimate spaces, where there can be meaningful interactions, and really functional spaces that cater to today’s lifestyle demands.
Find an interior designer near you on Houzz to redesign your home
Starting point
The inspiration for the interior came from the exterior. With the house being on a good-size block of land, I immediately felt like bringing the outside in, and because I never design an interior without considering the exterior, the garden design from the front fence to the back fence was front-of-mind.
Barstools: Cotswold Furniture
The inspiration for the interior came from the exterior. With the house being on a good-size block of land, I immediately felt like bringing the outside in, and because I never design an interior without considering the exterior, the garden design from the front fence to the back fence was front-of-mind.
Barstools: Cotswold Furniture
The dining area before works
The floor plan
Thinking behind the arrangement of furniture/fixtures
The restrictions of the existing floor plan dictated the design.
Thinking behind the arrangement of furniture/fixtures
The restrictions of the existing floor plan dictated the design.
Key design aspects
Colour palette: Dulux Currency Creek, with black and white.
Materials palette: Natural materials, such as timber and soapstone.
Key pieces of furniture/fittings: The kitchen cabinets and joinery are by Gravina Cabinets & Interiors and the tiles are from National Tiles.
The architectural fittings are by Domino Architectural Fittings, the granite benchtops are by Gladstones Granite Australia, and the marble is from Xtreme Marble.
Tapware is from The English Tapware Company and the pendant light is by The Montauk Lighting Co.
Colour palette: Dulux Currency Creek, with black and white.
Materials palette: Natural materials, such as timber and soapstone.
Key pieces of furniture/fittings: The kitchen cabinets and joinery are by Gravina Cabinets & Interiors and the tiles are from National Tiles.
The architectural fittings are by Domino Architectural Fittings, the granite benchtops are by Gladstones Granite Australia, and the marble is from Xtreme Marble.
Tapware is from The English Tapware Company and the pendant light is by The Montauk Lighting Co.
Why do you think this room works?
KWD’s design ethos is that for every dollar you put into a design project, you want to get two dollars back – and you want to spend money on what you should, not where you shouldn’t. I believe in spending more money on the hard finishes – the things you touch and feel.
At KWD, we are quite against creating big spaces. We believe in creating a home that brings a family together rather than creating spaces where they are forced away from each other.
We restructured the kitchen design more than a dozen times and worked really closely with Ben and Maria from Gravina Cabinets & Interiors, who were relentless in their determination to create the best possible joinery design.
KWD’s design ethos is that for every dollar you put into a design project, you want to get two dollars back – and you want to spend money on what you should, not where you shouldn’t. I believe in spending more money on the hard finishes – the things you touch and feel.
At KWD, we are quite against creating big spaces. We believe in creating a home that brings a family together rather than creating spaces where they are forced away from each other.
We restructured the kitchen design more than a dozen times and worked really closely with Ben and Maria from Gravina Cabinets & Interiors, who were relentless in their determination to create the best possible joinery design.
The very special two-pack polyurethane doors really brought out the grain of the timber, which was so important to the overall effect. The design made me change rules that I previously told my clients, such as not to have a sink in the kitchen island. But I’m a convert now. I love being able to chat to my kids while I’m at the sink rather than having my back to them, and it doesn’t detract from the design at all.
The tapware from The English Tapware Company completes the look perfectly. The storage solutions in this kitchen design are incredible too, from the hidden drawers to the streamlined cupboards and the slide-out doors – every detail makes this such a functional space. And having a bar in the kitchen is fabulous!
While the team was keen for me to use Calacatta marble for the benchtops, I had my heart set on soapstone. The way soapstone works was in keeping with the look I wanted throughout my home: an aged feel. The soapstone benchtop from Gladstones Granite Australia is perfect – the tonal greens work beautifully with the cabinetry, and above all I love that the stone has a patina that ages with time. It was cut to size and installed by Xtreme Marble and it looks spectacular. Add to that the Sub-Zero fridge and Wolf oven (complete with red knobs), which I have longed for since I was a child, and I am in heaven.
The tapware from The English Tapware Company completes the look perfectly. The storage solutions in this kitchen design are incredible too, from the hidden drawers to the streamlined cupboards and the slide-out doors – every detail makes this such a functional space. And having a bar in the kitchen is fabulous!
While the team was keen for me to use Calacatta marble for the benchtops, I had my heart set on soapstone. The way soapstone works was in keeping with the look I wanted throughout my home: an aged feel. The soapstone benchtop from Gladstones Granite Australia is perfect – the tonal greens work beautifully with the cabinetry, and above all I love that the stone has a patina that ages with time. It was cut to size and installed by Xtreme Marble and it looks spectacular. Add to that the Sub-Zero fridge and Wolf oven (complete with red knobs), which I have longed for since I was a child, and I am in heaven.
Making spaces more beautiful and more practical, and finishing a property in the best possible way within a client’s budget, is what drives us. I understand hard finishes, their form as well as their function, and how to use them in innovative and interesting ways and how to make the very best of them for the interior and the exterior.
Handles: Hepburn Hardware
Handles: Hepburn Hardware
Your turn
What do you love about this kitchen? Tell us in the Comments below. And don’t forget to save your favourite images, like this story and join the conversation.
More
Craving more great interiors? Take a look at last week’s Room of the Week: A Master Bedroom Inspired By an Artwork
What do you love about this kitchen? Tell us in the Comments below. And don’t forget to save your favourite images, like this story and join the conversation.
More
Craving more great interiors? Take a look at last week’s Room of the Week: A Master Bedroom Inspired By an Artwork
Answers by Kate Walker, founder and director, KWD
Who lives here: Kate Walker, her son Charlie (14), daughter Jemima (12) and dog, Pierre
Location: Mount Martha, Victoria
Room purpose and size: A 5 x 6-metre kitchen in a whole-home renovation