Hi JMac. I really, really wanted a butler's pantry, but couldn't fit it into the plans (without major compromise), so I'm not having one. It's going to be one big room, and I'm tossing up with the island whether it has seating or not/ upstand to hide the dirty plates when you're at the dining table or not. Still undecided. Stove is underbench and either a Neff or Siemens 60cm x2. The Neff has removable rack things so you get extra width inside like a wide oven. Ovens can blow your budget so easily - the Wolf ones, which have just been released on the Australian market, are $32,000 and up!! I actually started a post last night about why I was doing certain things in the kitchen, but it started to bore me, so I changed tack. xx

I hope you get to put in a colourful kitchen one day Jasmin! I loved the pink one - it was well done, and I can imagine it being a really fun place to be in. We have become a world of tasteful and safe neutrals, haven't we? Can make for a lot less personality in the home unfortunately. xx

Dear Jasmin and Heidi

I'm with you on loving colour. My favourite of these is the yellow. It sings. And is full of light and personality - also love the black and white wallpaper with it.

I'm not sure how useful it is to be on trend unless you want to sell your house within the next year or so. Kitchen designs change so much over the years that anything really trendy now will look so dated in five-ten years. Also, why be like everyone else in Australia? I love the way US and European kitchens in the glossies are so much more varied than their counterparts here.

In designing my own kitchen I was very much influenced by Monet's kitchen at Giverny. Not an attempt at a straight copy, but certainly picking up some of the influences, including the tiles in the splashback which are almost exact copies of Monet's. Cabinetry is more like furniture, made from jarrah (our original floorboards throughout the house are jarrah), benches are corian (love corian it's so tactile and feels wonderful, comes in so many colours and is so easy to clean) - same colour as the background of the tiles. Art work rather than Japanese is aboriginal. China we've had forever, it's Spode blue and white Italian, it works with the tiles. The more decorative glassware in glass fronted cabinets is deep blue, some from Murano. There is a large skylight above the main bench which makes it very light - but can be shaded by operating the remote. Very different from current kitchens and probably people who prefer minimalism would hate it. I'm still happy with it, but if starting again now might do something completely different. Look forward to seeing your kitchen when it's finished Heidi. I'm sure it will be beautiful. I love what you've already done with the outside of your house and landscaping. Best wishes, Pamela

I think you're right Pamela, there is a lot of focus on resale, and it does lead to a bland kitchen in a lot of instances. Interestingly when we went to sell our last house, the agent thought it was going to appeal to a broad market, as in our area it was very fashionable to have a very, very minimalist kitchen/ house/ renovation, which apparently alienated a lot of buyers. I don't think I'll ever be called a minimalist! Your kitchen sounds so lovely and full of personality Pamela. xx

oooh, sounds amazing Romy - I need more visuals on your blog please! I always remember my mum's kitchen growing up. It was done in 1983, but it was plain white cupboards, brushed stainless d-pull handles, pale beech benchtops and white subway tile splashback which contrasted with the Victorian architecture in a kind of Scandinavian way. People used to comment on the "new" kitchen in the late 90's. It was a good juxtaposition and ahead of its time I think. And I spend most of my life in the kitchen too, which is quite depressingly unpleasant at present! xx

Yes, that's my favourite too, although it could be because it has the steel windows, which are pretty similar to the ones we'll be having. I'm not going to have overhead cupboards too so that the windows and space are emphasised, although I will be losing quite a bit of potential storage by doing that. xx

there is a lot of inspiration - probably too much. I have over 150 pins on my kitchen board on Pinterest!! xx

i'm looking forward to seeing them finished too B. It's very tedious!! xx

I think that kitchen is referencing the traditional to some extent with the use of materials. It's a house in Melbourne (Middle Park), so it would likely have Victorian or Edwardian Architecture behind it. I thought it was quite beautiful. Your next kitchen sounds a bit like the one I did for my Parent's house - it's quite traditional (white painted panelling) with glass fronted upper cabinets to display porcelain. I actually wanted a wall oven for the reason you're mentioning, but unfortunately I can't fit it on the wall space available because of the pantry/ fridge requirements. Sigh. You never get everything! xx

I think it's probably easier to be brave with colour if it's a separate room from the rest of your living area (as a lot of those pictured are). Part of a large open plan space, and it becomes a bit tricker. I'm likely going to go with grey cabinets, so they will be fairly neutral... xx

I absolutely loathed renting Ann, so I know a little about your current frustration! It's just as difficult designing for myself, as for a client. Worse in some ways - I can only blame myself when I don't manage to fit my wishlist into the design. Also, I do also have my husband to contend with. For some reason he thinks he can have an input into the design. In fact, he likes to think that he's the designer sometimes. The cheek!

so do I - I think they'll make the extension. I just got the first quote back, and they're what I thought they'd be, so it looks like they're staying. Hooray!

Thanks K, I'm finding a lot of new blogs through blogging, which is interesting b/c I've been reading blogs for so long and thought I'd come across them all.... will have to check out the one you've mentioned. No one has vomited for at least 12 hours, so I'm hopeful that we're in the clear - fingers crossed! xx

Hi, good post this is very precise. Thanks for sharing.

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