This farmer’s wife in Western Australia couldn’t be happier with her new kitchen. Designed to fit the needs of a busy farming family, Natasha’s kitchen combines old-style charm with the best of modern appliances. “It’s unusual for families on the land to have such a beautiful kitchen,” says Natasha. “If more farmers did this, there’d be more people living in the country!” Natasha researched her kitchen carefully. “I love Federation country style, so I had to work with a new kitchen and make it look old,” she says. She chose classic country-style cabinetry from The Maker Designer Kitchens and teamed them with Dulux China White walls.
A feature splashback of contemporary glass mosaic tiles in shades of coffee, dark mocha and dark brown creates the focal point of the kitchen and contrasts with the traditional style of the cabinetry. The tiles are repeated in the laundry, toilet and mud room. “I debated overthe splashback,” says Natasha, “as I didn’t want it to date or spoil thekitchen.” In fact, this bold choice gives the room its unique style.
This kitchen isn’t just about looks – it works hard for its money. “If you live in the middle of nowhere, you need to have a good family hub as when guests drop by, they tend to do so in droves,” Natasha says. Now, with this carefully planned layout, she has plenty of room for all of them. “In the country, people always come into your kitchen, so we designed the area so they could be in here without being in the way,” she explains.Natasha’s kitchen doesn’t sacrifice function for style and is bang up to date with the latest modern conveniences Hearty cooking is the specialty of the house and when farmer Leon gets home, he can expect a warming family roast, or a freshly baked batch of cheese and herb scones from the freestanding St George double oven. Specifically chosen to meet the needs of a farming family, the oven has a separate element in the warming drawer.
Function and style combine with the use of halogen downlights and a chandelier. “At night we turn the main lights off and put the chandelier on with the lights in the kitchen cupboards and the underbench lighting and it looks really pretty,” Natasha says. Two sets of sinks were installed, creating an area for vegetable preparation and coffee making on the island bench and a separate clean-up area with a double sink over the dishwasher.
KITCHEN ESSENTIALS
Design and installation by The Maker Designer Kitchens, Perth
Bench – CaesarStone Ice Snow with a square pencil edge
Doors – Farmers Waratah veneer in DeCaff
Frieze and corbels – Farmers
Handles – Delf Architectural Hardware, antique iron
Island kickboards – Farmers Fancy Plant
Floor – polished porcelain tiles
Oven – St George freestanding double oven
Dishwasher – Miele
Refrigerator – Electrolux
Microwave – LG
Double sink – Clarke
Island bench sink – Oliveri
Story by Kate Williams