Silky oak and plywood kitchen

Brief:

As a person with both a professional and personal interest in the environment, this client came to us with a specific interest in an environmentally sustainable kitchen made from timber. However, just as important, was our ability to listen to her needs and wants and to design a kitchen that would suit her lifestyle, her personality and her house.

From a design point of view, we were given the creative freedom to provide our own interpretation of what would work best.

Once we were underway, we were also asked to design and manufacture a new front door. The front door can be seen here.

Result:

There was already a lot of timber in the house and while the client wanted timber, she was also unsure of whether a timber kitchen would work well given the newly laid timber flooring and other timber furniture. We needed to make sure the timber kitchen would work with the timber already in the house, therefore, the kitchen was designed to be practical and functional and to work with the existing floor.

The island bench was designed on legs to keep the room open, rather than closing in the kitchen and separating the room. This was also achieved by incorporating the timber racks at the bottom of the island bench allowing the floor to be seen through the racks.

The legs of the island bench were constructed out of silky oak and the leg design was continued throughout the rest of the kitchen to create a feeling of uniformity in the kitchen whilst also creating a separation of each unit, rather than blending all the units in together.

Exposed plywood edges to the cabinets provide a frame for the doors as well as an interesting feature in the kitchen, making the kitchen quite unique.

A frosted glass door was chosen for the pantry area next to the fridge, rather than a solid panel, to keep the side of the fridge concealed and enclosed, but also to create light and not box in the area. Glass shelves in the pantry allow for more light transition throughout the pantry and also creates a better view of items on the shelves above. This is a particular advantage for our client whose height is smaller than average.

Particular attention has been made to the sink area, typically an area where there is a lot of wasted space due to plumbing requirements. We have used the space saving plumbing system to maximise the available space under the sink. We have also built drawers under the sink for recyclables, compost waste and general waste. In addition to the bins, we have also installed a glove/soap drawer under the sink. The drawers under the sink are also removable for maintenance and plumbing purposes. The space is truly optimised for functionality, whilst maintaining the look of the kitchen.

The handles have been custom-designed and individually hand-made.

Soft-close drawer runners, dove tailed drawers and premium fittings and fixtures complete this kitchen.

As the door is situated in the kitchen, we needed to treat the door/jamb as part of the kitchen. By using recycled blackbutt, as we had used in the kitchen, the door has become part of the overall picture and completes the look. Different shades of purple glass were used at the top of the jamb to create an effective feature as well as allow light into the room.

Materials:

Cabinetry: plantation hoop pine plywood
Benchtop: solid recycled blackbutt
Legs/Dividers/Shadowlines: solid silky oak
Open shelves: plantation hoop pine plywood
Timber racks in island bench: solid silky oak
Door handles: recycled jarrah and bamboo
Back door/jambs: solid recycled blackbutt with laminated glass and coloured glass

Winner – Master Builders and Boral Excellence in Building Awards – Outstanding Workmanship Award 2011.

Design, manufacture and installation: Select Custom Joinery.

Photography: John Tucker.