SCANDI ASIAN
Making home, work and play fun for every day
An award-winning kitchen with a family-friendly layout that celebrates the owners' Sri Lankan and Singaporean heritage and their enjoyment of living close to nature.
The Brief
The clients wanted nothing to block the room's natural light and views of the garden, and the kitchen's cabinetry and colour palette needed to complement the architect-designed extension and connect visually and physically with the rest of the ground floor, which is also open plan. The space needed to be flexible so it can be used for different purposes at different times of the day – family breakfasts, the children's homework, and playtime while the food is cooked – and also have somewhere the parents can sit and enjoy a quiet drink in the evenings and throw grown-up parties for friends.
The designer's solution embraces biophilic principles, fostering a connection to nature and creating an indoor-outdoor ambience. Flat-fronted cabinetry in ash, hand-painted in matt black, demarcates the backbone of the kitchen, while pale oak panels with handcrafted fluted surfaces line the walls. At the heart of the design is a marble-topped island, featuring seating thoughtfully arranged around one corner and integrated with a downdraft Bora system. The working side offers push-to-open drawers lined with bespoke organisers, while open shelves on the front provide space for display and cookery books.
Special Features
Family viewing: with its curved corner carefully designed to echo the couple's circular dining table, the bespoke banquette seat fits snugly beneath the garden picture window and establishes a child-friendly spot for meals, homework and play; the black-stained oak cabinet to the right encloses the breakfast bar-pantry.
Finishing touches: the built-in planter for the ancient olive tree was designed with walls suitable for perching on. In the corner, to the right of sink, a countertop cabinet with a rolling door and a power socket fitted inside means gadgets such as the mixer can easily be pulled out for use before sliding away again.
Quiet luxury: an otherwise blank wall has been turned into an at-home bar with a wine cooler, fridge and storage enclosed in black-stained oak cabinetry to match the kitchen, and floating shelving against a backdrop of smoked mirror glass.
Materials & Finishes
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3.- White Macaubus Quartzite
- White Pigmented Oak - Skog
- Black Stained Oak
The process
