A bright and vibrant kitchen design

Designing this space from scratch as part of a new house build, owners Sonia and Troy decided on the red cabinetry after a few days spent trawling kitchen showrooms. "It's not something I ever thought we'd go for because we usually have a very neutral taste in decor," says Sonia. 

So why the change? "We just saw it in a showroom and loved it. It was so contemporary and modern and really turned the kitchen into a feature. We also thought it would work well in the space we were building, which we'd designed to be quite large and totally open plan. We thought using such a bold colour would be a good way to create some definition between the kitchen and the other living areas."

Which is exactly what it does. And because they've chosen to use the red relatively sparingly, on only one side of the kitchen, it packs a punch without being too overwhelming. 

"Basically, after we'd picked the red, we then worked around that, so the other colours and materials we chose were all picked to complement the red." Which is a smart design move – choosing one standout finish and making sure everything else blends. While black cabinetry has been used on the other side of the galley, stainless steel appliances make a splash and slick, dark granite benchtops give the kitchen an air of luxury. 

"We actually went the flat-pack route with the cabinetry because we were doing the kitchen on quite a tight budget. But we did decide to splash out a bit on the benchtop. We figured choosing a relatively expensive finish there and buying stainless steel appliances would make the kitchen look more expensive than it actually is." 

Mission accomplished. By using flat-pack cabinetry that they were able to construct themselves, they literally shaved thousands off their kitchen spend, but looking at the finished product you'd never know it. 

So, anything they'd change? "Nothing at all. The thing we wanted to achieve was a kitchen that looked great but also functioned well, and this does both."

Sonia and Troy

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Why did you select 'oversized' cupboard doors?

We just liked it and thought it was more modern than lots of smaller cupboard doors that have the traditional 'two doors to a cabinet' design. Because the red is bold, we were also conscious of limiting how many door handles we had to have, so single, large doors helped us out there. 

And why did you choose long, slim handles?

The same reason as above really – to achieve a long, streamlined effect. But it also just made sense. Once we'd chosen large doors and long drawers, it would have looked visually wrong to use small or chunky handles. 

You've used symmetry in the cupboard placement surrounding the fridge – why?

That was another thing that just visually seemed to make sense to us. We knew we wanted the oven on one side of the fridge and the microwave on the other, so then it just worked to go with the same cupboard-drawer configuration on either side. 

What finish is on the cupboard doors?

It's a high-gloss, foil-wrapped finish, which was one of the more expensive options, but again, because we'd chosen flat-pack construction, we wanted things to look as luxurious as possible. We also thought it made the most of the red colour – a more matt finish just wouldn't have done it justice. 

Why didn't you use a professional designer?

We were trying to save money, so it didn't make sense to then spend a lot of the budget on a designer. And because we were using flat-pack cabinets, it was basically a matter of making standard-size cupboards fit into our space. We played around with the configuration until we were happy. 

Sonia and Troy

What's your advice for installing a flat-pack kitchen?

If you have the space, pre-assemble the cabinets yourself, which will save you time and money when you're ready to install it. But we'd definitely recommend getting a professional builder to fit the kitchen. Some of our cupboards were large and we needed to make sure they were properly secured. 

Any hidden traps?

Not really; it was a pretty smooth process. But it's worth remembering that unlike a custom-made kitchen, a lot more of the design and measuring process falls on your shoulders. That makes you feel a lot more involved, but can be quite stressful and relatively long-winded. 

You've opted for a large refrigerator – did you own that before you designed the kitchen?

The fridge is new, so we obviously planned for it during the design process. Having lived with the smallest refrigerator in the world for years, in this new kitchen having a large fridge was a priority. And we love it – but we still never seem to have enough fridge space.

Are you happy with the drawers that you've chosen?

Absolutely. Deciding on the ratio between cupboards and drawers was quite difficult, but we're happy. We use them for everything from storing pots and pans to even our good crockery. Because the drawers are fitted with soft-close mechanisms and organisers, they're very user friendly. 

How functional is the 'u' shape design?

Very. Some people thought we were crazy because the work triangle we've created is practically non-existent – it's more of a straight line! But it works for us and we were determined to leave the bench opposite the fridge clear for use as a serving or eating space.