Kitchen Renovation Tips

The cooking area in Victorian homes was often detached from the main house and the post-war period saw dwellings become smaller as cities grew and the kitchen was relocated next to the living area. In the modern age, the kitchen has been redesigned to be open plan The kitchen and open plan living area are central to the fl oorplan. as busy people make the most of their time at home, combining cooking and eating with other family activities. Confronting for those not used to putting away dishes, the open plan kitchen is often divided, with a smaller preparation area on one side and seating for eating on the other.

Creating a Central Area
Previously used as a radio station there was little more than a sink in one corner of architect Fiona Winzar's apartment in St Kilda, Victoria. 'The space was derelict, we even had to shoo out the pigeons,' she says. Since the space was a shell, Fiona saved on having to demolish an old kitchen and was free to locate the new fi t-out and open plan living area at the centre of the apartment, fl anked by the bedroom wings. The design is a contemporary take on French country style, with utensils and crockery arranged on open stainless steel racks set in two steel-framed benches on castors. 'The benches also double as a bar so it can be an eat-in area,' explains Fiona. The other side of the benches is referred to as the working side, where everything is visible and within reach. Easy-access appliances and a double sink positioned under the window maintain the open plan, with the pantry door as a blackboard feature.

Designed for the Family
'The kitchen is the most renovated part of the house, taking up signifi cant cost and time,' says architect Ian Perkins of Perkins Architects, who extensively renovated a large Federation home in Armadale, Victoria. New rooms were added to the rear of the home, including dining and living areas and a kitchen with streamlined cooking and preparation area and pantry tucked out of view. The grain of the timber veneer cupboards creates a checkerboard feature, with the joinery lit from below by fl uorescent lights to contrast with the pale stone benchtops.

Trendspotting - Ian sees a move away from the currently popular stainless steel benchtops, to more natural fi nishes such as timber and stone benchtops and cabinets. 'Stainless steel scratches, so it's best not used for high-traffic kitchens,' he says.

Finding Flooring Solutions
'There were timber arches and brass handles on the cupboards. But the worst was the tiles in blues and browns that looked like they came from different jobs,' says architect Tim O'Sullivan who renovated this house in Northcote, Victoria, with designer Sioux Clark. The Victorian timber home had been renovated in the 1970s with all the trappings of the era, including a peach laminate benchtop. One of the main challenges with the new kitchen was levelling the floor, which was covered with broken tiles that had to be removed. 'It was difficult separating the tiles from the concrete slab and resulted in an uneven floor,' says Sioux. She sourced slate tile produced in varying thicknesses and had it laid to resemble the crazy-paving style popular in the 1950s, creating a quirky design feature. To open up the area for more room the kitchen was relocated into the space once used for dining, and new openings for windows and doors were created for a connection to the back garden. The new area now includes hoop pine cupboards and a 4.5-metre long benchtop made from reconstituted stone with a natural weathered fi nish. According to Tim, the layout of a kitchen should allow for different styles of cooking. 'Someone who barbecues their food won't require the same layout or features as someone who cooks a lot of Asian food or who is vegetarian, so the design needs to be customised accordingly,' he says.

Planning a Smart Layout
'The fl oor was creaky and the laminate cupboards chipped, but the main problem in this kitchen was the layout. Things were simply in the wrong spot,' says architect Nicholas Gioia. He sees the value in taking time to design a kitchen and says this double-fronted Victorian in Albert Park, Victoria, needed a lot of work. The new kitchen features timber veneer on some cupboard fronts, with white laminate on others and both are easy to keep clean. When choosing surfaces Nicholas says, 'Marble may be luxurious but it's diffi cult not to stain. Laminates can look cheap but if they're well detailed they can be timeless.'

Maximise Hidden Storage
'The original kitchen was a lean-to with no natural light,' says architect David Balestra-Pimpini of this house in Brunswick, Victoria. The most dramatic effects of the makeover result from the skylight that allows natural light onto the marble benchtops. At one end is a seraphic glass wall that refl ects light into other parts of the open plan space, while a pantry with open shelves is hidden behind white-painted cupboards. 'We also used the space below the adjacent staircase, which provides room for the fridge and extra storage,' says David.