Country Kitchens - Style on the menu

Photography by Tony Potter
Styling by Kirstin Randl-Katalinic

For Leanne and David, designing a new kitchen was all about creating a family-friendly space that flowed with the rest of their home.

Story by Zoe Liddy

When the final nail was hammered and the toolboxes were snapped shut, the Hawkesbury New South Wales couple and their two children christened their kitchen with a hearty home-cooked dinner. Five years on and the family is still enjoying sumptuous feasts in their beautifully chic kitchen – some even courtesy of the children. Naturally this pleases their parents greatly as they were adamant it would be a welcoming room for all the family to take pleasure in. "It's designed to fit up to four comfortably at the breakfast bar, whether it's for homework or to talk while preparing meals," Leanne says.

Things weren't always quite so free-flowing; before they renovated their 1875 double-brick home, the kitchen abutted a bricked-up hallway, which restricted the flow of the house. The renovation encompassed the older part of the home, including the restoration of the grand hallway to its original full length, and saw the repositioning of the kitchen in the newer, breezier weatherboard extension. David's building background helped the couple conceptualise the design of the kitchen and identify suitable materials, then they handed over the reins to Design Building Services.

For the chef's expediency, the island bar has drawers for pots and utensils as well as a sink for food preparation, then it's just a matter of moving between this central spot and the pantry, fridge, stove and benchtop in what Leanne calls "a convenient triangular working station". To make things even easier, they designed the appliance cupboard to be larger than normal so they could minimise clutter. The kitchen's ultra-handy elements are matched by its gorgeous style, and Leanne cites the framed cupboards, double capping and exposed kickboards as her favourite features, especially given that they complement the old-world charm of the house.

To create a sense of continuity in their home, Leanne and David used the painted timber features as a guide to the kitchen's colour palette, choosing a "warm but very neutral" shade that they could update seasonally with bursts of colour via accessories. To meet the classic sensibility of their kitchen they've showcased some treasured items behind the glass-fronted display cabinets – all of which are nicely accentuated by the glow of downlights at night – with a little nook on the corner of the benchtop for just a few feminine touches. Otherwise, it's all stylish panelled cabinetry, polished timber flooring and 'miles' of smooth, easy-to-clean CaesarStone benchtops – and that's just the way Leanne likes it.

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