This Drummoyne Kitchen Is Australia’s Most Popular Kitchen in 2018

This Drummoyne kitchen renovation, designed by Blue Tea Designer Laura, is the Kitchen Winner of the KBDI Australian Peoples Choice Awards 2018. It also won the best KBDI Small Kitchen of NSW.  Learn about how this clients beloved home was transformed and recreated by Laura's stunning design and Blue Tea's dedicated team of professionals.

When it comes to design, Blue Tea embrace a collaborative experience between designer, client and architecture. Voted Australia’s most popular kitchen in 2018, the Drummoyne kitchen is a sophisticated, contemporary space that pays homage to its heritage bones.

The Design Brief

From the get-go, the design brief seemed relatively simple, but the client had an extensive wish list for their new kitchen dreams. Even though the space was fairly small, the kitchen needed to feel generous, spacious and seamless with integrated technology and appliances. It needed to be clutter free and to show reference to the existing traditional architecture.

The clients home in Drummoyne had stunning architectural bones that have been lovingly kept and maintained. Laura wanted the new kitchen to be minimal but to highlight the beautiful federation features and details, such as the gorgeous skylight that was currently boxed-in in the original design.

Removing the bulkheads surrounding the skylight dramatically increases the sense of space and height in the kitchen. The original kitchen had a lot of unused space, was dark and lacked storage and bench space, was cluttered and small. The overriding design statement for the new kitchen was to be a:

"Modern Federation Entertainers Delight"

It was to showcase the clients love of food, family and entertaining and to enhance the existing traditional detailing of the space. Above is a before photo of the kitchen, and the removal of the kitchen and bulkheads. Removing the bulkhead accentuated the high ceilings and beautiful feature skylight and gave way to a modern approach.

Design Decisions

Below are Laura's drawings showing the plan and elevation. The plan highlights the marble and timber selections and shows the cabinetry detail. The elevation below highlights the splashback detailing.

The design decisions were an integrated weave of subtle choices. Brass detailing was used to mix the old with the new. Seen in traditional fittings throughout the home,  brass in the kitchen took on a modern makeover. An Aztec pattern was created with brass highlights in the Carara marble splashback, making this one of the most striking design elements of the kitchen. The marble itself paid reference to the marble at the front entrance. Brass handles were used to accentuate the design and to contrast the deep aubergine cabinetry colour.

Above are the brass details, and below is a modern interpretation of the brass integrated into the kitchen splash back.

Colour choices again were made with consideration to the federation home, turning traditional choices into a contemporary space. Minimal white cabinetry was contrasted with rich aubergine tall cabinetry. This colour is traditionally a heritage colour, but in the kitchen, it takes on a life of its own. A forest green marble benchtop was selected for the kitchen island. Like all the detailing in the kitchen, it wasn't simply an aesthetic decision. The heritage green tile was used in the clients' original bathrooms and Laura wanted to honour the existing architectural decisions. The below images show the original bathroom green tile, and the selected Forest Green marble benchtop for the kitchen space.

Modern detailing was created using a traditional and organic piece of timber on the island benchtop. This was to compliment the clients dining table. Contemporary, sleek cabinetry was finished with traditional capping above the wall and tall units. Up-lighting was used above the cabinetry to accentuate the high ceilings. Blum motion silk drawers were used to create handless cabinetry with minimal lines. It was one of Australia’s first kitchens to employ this new technology created by the German company, Blum. The kitchen is finished with black tapware and appliances making it a sophisticated mix of modern and traditional aesthetics.

The understanding of ergonomics and technology, subtle and rich design decisions to complement the existing architecture and installation accuracy have made this an extremely popular kitchen in Australia in 2018.

View more photo's of this Modern Shaker Kitchen here.

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You can find out more about our Sydney kitchen renovations here.