Contemporary kitchen design
Contemporary kitchen design
After visiting the Kitchen Design Journal I read a post about laminate countertops. After reading it I was inspired to write about my own experience with laminate countertops here.
In 2006 I was approached by Parbury Building Products to design and build a kitchen for the then upcoming Housing Industry Association (HIA) Kitchen & Bathroom Expo at Darling Harbour, Sydney.
The design brief was pretty simple: I had to use Parbury products for the kitchen, I could choose any kitchen appliance and I was free to design anything I liked.
After looking at the layout of the exhibition space I decided on an L shaped kitchen with an island. I also wanted to design something that was different hence the staggered arrangement of countertop heights.
I did this for the sake of kitchen ergonomics. I am 6′ tall so the kitchen design suited me perfectly. The cooktop area is at a height of 900mm from the floor and is 700mm deep. The sink area is 1050mm high and to the right of the sink (from left to right) is a built in coffee maker (with warming drawer), dishwasher, oven and a mid height aluminium framed glass door cabinet. The dishwasher is positioned perfectly as there is no bending required to load or unload it and the coffee machine is well positioned next to the sink.
The kitchen island was also built with two countertop heights of 900 and 1050mm and 900mm in depth. You could sit at the breakfast bar area or lean against the higher countertop. Perfect for interacting with visitors to the exhibition.
I wanted to keep the colour scheme for the kitchen cabinets neutral so I chose white. Likewise for the countertops. It is a very light woodgrain laminate (almost bleached out). I wanted a very bold orange colour on the wall so as to attract the Expo visitors attention. The other wall I painted in a chocolate brown suede effect. The end result is a stimulating, warm looking kitchen tempered by the coolness of white, stainless steel and aluminium.
Kitchen Specifications
Doors - Parbury ‘Colorform’ (thermolaminate/vinyl) doors in Matt White
Countertop - Wilsonart laminate called ‘Anjou’
Splashback - Wilsonart laminate stainless steel look
Handles - Aluminium D shape 15mm thick
Drawers - Blum ‘Tandem’ with soft close
Aluminium Frame Glass Doors - ‘Parbury Aluminium Doors’ with white opaque glass
Kitchen Appliances - Electrolux ‘Gallery’ range
Cabinet Lighting - ‘Hera’ concealed halogen cabinet lights
Tapware - ‘Venus’ by Dorf - Clark
Walls - Dulux ‘Orange’ (base colour - no tints or hues) and Dulux Suede Effects ‘Fossil Beige’
Kitchen Accessories - IKEA
The HIA Kitchen & Bathroom Expo lasted 5 days and was a great success for all those involved. And where is the kitchen now I hear you ask? In my home, of course! 
- January 26th
Wow Kevin! Thanks so much for sharing how that amazing kitchen came about. I had no idea that laminate countertops could look this elegant and stylish