• Kitchen by Sean Monk from Kitchens By Design
  • Kitchen by Sean Monk from Kitchens By Design
  • Kitchen by Sean Monk from Kitchens By Design

A kitchen for today and into the future

What started out as a new fridge turned out as a beautiful new kitchen, designed to serve its owners’ needs now and into the future.

No matter what stage of life you’re at – a young couple with no kids yet, forty-somethings with a couple of teenagers, or empty nesters contemplating retirement – you need to plan for the future. So when you’re weighing up the wants and needs for your new kitchen, it shouldn’t just be the latest appliances or benchtop materials you thinking about; you should also consider future-proofing it for what life will look like at the end of the next decade. After all, a well-designed, quality-built kitchen will last at least 15 years, probably longer. And this is something Lucy and Richard Chalmers* certainly factored into the design of their new kitchen when it came time for a new one.

“We are ‘empty nesters’, who enjoy cooking for family and friends,” says Lucy. “Our house was extensively renovated 14 years ago, but at the time the kitchen budget was a little light, and consequently the cabinetry and benchtops had all worn out. We had no problems with the original design, but definitely made a mistake with the size of the fridge.”

The Chalmers live in a lovely period home. Their kitchen, living and dining area is at the centre of the house, and enjoys a sunny, north-facing aspect that flows out on to a private back garden. When it came to designing and installing their new kitchen, a friend recommended they call the team at Kitchens By Design.

“Initially, we asked for the same design, but with a bigger fridge,” says Lucy. “We were also keen to maximise working bench space and have an appliance centre. We felt future proofing [the kitchen] would avoiding lifting heavy appliances onto bench tops.”

Sean Monk was the lead designer on the Chalmers’ new kitchen; he developed designs and produced 3D drawings to help them work through any issues that arose during the design process. “He listened to our concerns and translated them into design adjustments which better suited our taste and lifestyle while maintaining the elegant simplicity of the original design,” says Lucy.

As their kitchen progressed into the manufacturing stage, the Chalmers were invited to pay a visit to the factory to view some of the finer details of the cabinetry. Richard says that this was a really special part of the process for them, and it’s something Kitchens By Design encourage all their clients to do, because, for the first time, it gives a sense of scale and proportion to the finished kitchen.

Now it has been fully installed in their home, Lucy says that her new kitchen, with its new suite of appliances, is a treat and there are many new aspects they are enjoying, such as the well-organised recycling/rubbish/compost drawer. “I also love the Corian benchtops and locally made, hand-blown pendant lights I chose… and Richard loves his big fridge!”

Her final piece of advice to anyone putting in a new kitchen: Take your time and work closely with your designer. And ask lots of questions.

*clients’ names changed for privacy.