Be It Never So Humble

Sydney Morning Herald

Thursday March 31, 2005

Chris Pearson

Lose the fridge, bring in the duco paint and don't forget the curtains. It's show time for designers.

Man of steel

Architect Ian Moore doesn't spend a lot of time in his kitchen at Rushcutters Bay. He's either away on business or spending time with his family, who recently decamped from Sydney to live in Noosa.

To prove his point, he opens the top cupboards to reveal empty shelves. This is a man who too often resorts to takeaway.

But in the top drawer beside the sink is his pride and joy - a set of classic David Mellor cutlery. He values good design: the Vola mixer tap, designed by Arne Jacobsen, sets off the Dualit toaster, which complements the Alessi kettle ("I've had it since 1984") and Stelton teapot.

With Tina Engelen, Moore was one of the city's champions of '90s minimalism and his kitchen is no one-off; it's part of an Engelen Moore development of 26 units. But it has to do more than look pretty. Moore spends about two hours a day there - hard to avoid, because it's part of an open-plan space - making endless cups of tea.

The benchtop and splashback are stainless steel, which, he says, is durable and easy to maintain. "Some people think it's hard work, but I've never heard so much rubbish," Moore says. Just clean it once a month with 3M Stainless Steel cleaner, he suggests, then wipe it from time to time. Scratches? They're part of the look.

As a design feature, the stainless steel plays with the light, reflecting the bright red feature wall in the living room and the fluoros concealed under the top cabinets.

Despite being someone who makes a lot of tea, and little else, Moore knows what a cook needs in a kitchen.

The three metres of bench space, including cooktop and sink, is plenty for most people, he says. To the right, behind a wall of cabinets, which extends from one end of the apartment to another, is the pantry and integrated fridge - "one of my favourite things".

The benchtop and sink are moulded into one. And the massive 500mm x 400mm sink is 300mm deep. Good for baking pans - and for hiding dirty dishes should guests arrive unannounced, Moore says.

From a distance, the floor looks like polished concrete, but is Marmoleum from Forbo. Made from flax and linseed oil, it's a natural take on linoleum and just as practical.

The damage: expect to pay $25,000, including appliances.

Details

Engelen Moore, 9380 4099. Cabinetry: Two-pak polyurethane in Dulux Stoney Creek. Flooring: Walton Marmoleum, Light Grey, from Forbo, 1800 224 471.

Aga of reason

When interior decorator Ros Palmer's 21-year-old kitchen came of age earlier this year, she gave it a facelift. Up came the cork flooring and out went the island bench to be replaced by a bigger one.

A lick of chalky paint and a new custom-made corner cupboard were the other ingredients in her revamp. The rest stayed as it was. Why, she says, change anything that already works perfectly. "The renovation I've just done is more of the same thing. I have just rung in the changes. The formula is fine the way it is," she says.

Her tastes lean towards the traditional. She's been called on for decorating advice by the Laws's and the Lodge and her own kitchen revamp has echoes of Gosford Park. At 80 square metres, it features Carrara marble benchtops, panelled cupboards, a huge baker's table and English bone china in glass-fronted cabinets. But the star is the Aga, which has been the centrepiece from the start. "It's on for seven or eight months of the year. It makes cooking a dream and heats the house. My Aga's like a living thing."

One thing you don't see is the fridge, which is in a separate room. "When I design a kitchen, I lose the fridge. I know some people say it's a design statement but, no matter what they do with it, it's still ugly."

Open plan is not on the menu here, either. But Palmer's no conservative. When she first renovated her kitchen in the 1980s, it included the latest features, such as an island bench.

"When I put in that first island, not many people had them, but they do now. Over the years, though, I felt it was too thin and too small. I love the scale and the fatness of the new one."

The new marble-topped island with butler's sink was custom-made by Fewings for $6500. For this, she specified Carrara marble for the top. "It's a myth that it stains - why would they use it in butchers' shops and delis if that were true? You couldn't stain it if you wanted to."

Today, she sings the praises of her new flooring. Like Moore's, it's Marmoleum - "a revelation". She's offset a pale biscuit colour with blue inserts to give the finishing touch. "People are looking for an alternative to tiles and timbers. This is resistant to acids, it always looks nice and I only have to sweep it. And it's affordable. This room cost about $6000, including laying."

There's no shortage of storage, although you can forget space-optimisers such as pot drawers or pull-out pantries - just cupboards and more cupboards along two walls. But Palmer's no hoarder.

"I am rigid. If something hasn't been used in the past two years, I get rid of it. Recent discards included the breadmaker, crockpot, deep fryer and the pressure cooker. All I need is my hand blender and my food processor. The basics are always the best. A good cook can cook over a Primus."

The damage: expect to pay $40,000, excluding appliances.

Details

Ros Palmer Interiors, 9362 3062. Stove: Aga Classic four-oven from Winning Appliances, 9698 8099. Benchtops Carrara marble from Iberian Artisans,

9666 4111. Splashback: Handcut 100 sq mm glazed ceramic tiles (discontinued), from Aeria Country Floors, 9326 2444. Flooring: Marmoleum in Alabaster, Periwinkle trim, from Forbo, 1800 224 471. Kitchen island from Fewings Joinery, 9693 1100.

Glamour model

Step into architect Scott Weston's kitchen and you could be on a stage. And hogging the limelight are the vibrantly painted cabinets and an Aubrey Beardsley-style graphic on the splashback. In the wings, a massive floor-to-ceiling fuchsia curtain separates the kitchen and the open-plan living area.

Weston's a glamour man. He made his name a few years ago for his design of the Medusa Hotel in Darlinghurst and at the moment is working on a house for Vogue editor Kirsty Clements. "But I'm a pragmatist," he says. "The practical side formed the basis of my brief to myself and then I embroidered over the top."

The kitchen is part of a complete renovation of his house, which involved 69 architectural drawings, two 1:100-scale model white houses, 10 storyboard panels and 150 pages of architectural specifications.

"You spend money on the finishing touches. And where the wear and tear is," he says. "Some things I was precious about, but I still had a budget, so it was a case of balancing beautiful materials like the quartz benchtop with humble materials. The painted surface is cheap, but it's serviceable and you can wipe it down."

The cupboards have been sprayed by a car painter, in as many layers as a car's duco, Weston explains. This offers protection against scratches and, should the unthinkable occur, they can be polished out.

There are masses of shelves and cupboards, including pot drawers and a pantry to the side, and a mammoth 6.5 metres of bench space along a credenza, which houses the bottom cupboards and extends from the kitchen into the living area. It has a hidden dishwasher and 13 deep drawers - they allow easy access to the back of the cupboards and are lined with rubber to stop the crockery shifting around.

The benchtop is Stone Italiana 20mm reconstituted quartz ("Red wine or citrus juice will eat into stone, but not reconstituted stone. It's indestructible."). It is butt-joined along the edge to a depth of 50mm to give the bench the appearance of extra thickness.

There is a concealed pantry with a bench and shelves in a C-shape that are a mere 200mm deep. "You don't do deep shelves in a pantry - everything needs to be visible and accessible," Weston says.

The kitchen, which he designed with his business partner Gregory Phillips, is a showpiece for his work. His clients could not fail to see it - his office is upstairs.

The damage: expect to pay $35,000, including appliances.

Details

Scott Weston Architecture and Design, 9699 8660.

Splashback: Starphire with graphic in Dulux Dark Secret two-pak polyurethane, from G. James Glass, 9732 2477. Cabinetry: Dulux Scarlet Ribbons, Blue Lobelia low sheen in two-pak polyurethane. Curtain: Jab polyester open weave, from Seneca Textiles, 9361 3099. Builder: AMZ Constructions, 4952 5534.

© 2005 Sydney Morning Herald

Back to News Index | Back to Home