Feature article

How this dramatic black kitchen balances function with beauty

Design in a modernist setting, this kitchen achieves a stunning statement whilst maintaining essential practicality.

Last updated: 1 February 2024


Dramatic design in a modernist setting, this elegant black kitchen manages to achieve a stunning statement whilst maintaining essential practicality.

Project

New family home

Designer

Chris Tate

Location

Takapuna, Auckland

Brief

A dramatic design in a modernist setting

How is the kitchen placed within the home?

The kitchen is the focal point of the living space in a house that comprises two perpendicular rectangular boxes, one on top of the other in the modernist style.

You’ve used a dramatic contrast of light and dark – talk us through the visual textures used.

The materials were selected with the complete project in mind. The stone benchtops and splashback were hand selected from Italian Stone – our belief is that the bench should be the best material in the house as it’s the most used and touched surface.

How have you managed storage?

There’s no scullery in this design, whereas we would typically include one in a modern kitchen. However, we have a half scullery behind the cabinetry for appliances such as a toaster and coffee machine.

The living area is open plan – have you used any design devices to demarcate the kitchen from the rest of the area?

The open-plan space is designed for furniture. The kitchen materials and form present a dramatic presence, as do the raw steel elements in the space, the spiral staircase and fireplace surround.

What do the owners enjoy most about the design?

The use of space and scale makes for ease of use.

 

Benchtop Granite in ‘Titanium Gold’ with a leathered finish by Italian Stone; 30mm classic-polish stainless steel by Staybrite Stainless Steel

Cabinetry Prime art veneer with a black stain and two-pack clear coat by Royale Kitchens

Cooktop Fisher & Paykel gas-on-glass 900mm

Flooring Polished concrete

Hardware ‘Antaro’ by Blum

Lighting LED strip lighting to cabinetry and benchtop overhang

Oven Fisher & Paykel 600mm under-bench ovens

Rangehood Fisher & Paykel Powerpack

Sink ‘Aoraki 860-20’ in Nero by Archant.

Photography: Mark Scowen.

This article was originally published on homemagazine.nz

Author

Clare Chapman
Clare Chapman
Editor in Chief, HOME - homemagazine.nz

Clare has spent the last 16 years working across Australasia as a journalist, editor and writer. Her work has appeared in books and publications around the world. Clare has led editorial teams for numerous architecture and design publications. In 2020, she was appointed Editor in Chief of HOME magazine, before taking the helm as publisher in 2023.