A change is as good as a holiday for the owners of this recent project. While their previous kitchen was only 10 years old, with a clean white, modern feel, they wanted a fresh look with a bit more punch – and just take a look at the results.

When planning, a lack of wall space available, and the floors having just been done a few months prior were the two main considerations.

The brief was black cabinetry with a grey benchtop and integrated appliances. “Black kitchens can be heavy so the balance of all the materials was an important consideration,” said designer Natalie.

The owners liked their existing island configuration but retaining an 80mm thick counter would have made the space far too imposing with the new, darker colour palette. Natalie opted to thin the bench to a still respectable 40mm with a Superwhite Dolomite. The natural stone’s beautiful veins run throughout the benchtop and backsplash, bleeding toward the Wilsonart Traceless matte black veneer of the cabinetry. Fluted glass doors were added on some of the cabinetry, again to ease the heaviness of the matte black. The simple yet elegant handles are by Lo & Co Interiors.

To help soften the space further, the counter was rounded at one end to create flow and make for a more open and conversational bar seating arrangement, while the timber veneer by Navurban, New Age Veneers, under the bar back was introduced to soften and warm the space as well.

The clients opted for a Fisher & Paykel oven and induction cooktop set into the island with a super modern hanging rangehood, the Valentina Pendant by Sirius that becomes a centrepiece of the kitchen. The dishwasher and fridge are also integrated Fisher & Paykel while the sink and taps are Franke, so too is the soap dispenser.

Aventos lift ups help give dynamic storage options while Blum was used for hinges and drawers as well as the Blum Pullboy for the pull-out bins.

Cabinet doors/Panels Wilsonart Traceless black matte cabinetry
Hinges & drawer runners Blumotion & Legrabox Pure
Storage solutions Aventos lift ups and inner drawers to the pantry
Pull-out bins Blum pull boy
Benchtop Superwhite Dolomite by Gitani Stone
Handles Lo & Co Interiors
Splashback Superwhite Dolomite by Gitani Stone
Kickboard Wilsonart Traceless black matte cabinetry
Rangehood Sirius Valentina Pendant
Oven Fisher & Paykel
Cooktop Fisher & Paykel
Dishwasher Fisher & Paykel integrated
Refrigerator Fisher & Paykel integrated
Sink Franke top mount in black
Tap Franke Atlas Neo pull out tap with Franke active soap dispenser
Bar Fridge Vintec
Flooring Engineered Natural Oak floating floor