The kitchen is the busy hub of every contemporary home: it’s where everything from kids’ homework to family conferences to cooking for — and with — friends happens. Which is why it’s so important to get the design of this most vital of spaces right. Here are some inspiring and useful ideas.
Words — Robyn Alexander | Photography — Greg Cox
DIY Delight
Confronted by a tiny kitchen filled with generic cabinetry, the owners of this city flat simply pulled it all out, gave the worn tiled splashback a slick of matt black paint, and added simple wooden shelving sourced at the hardware store. Practical steel countertops (installed by a friend) lend the space a quirky, industrial appeal, and the final additions of a solid poplar wood table and vintage school chairs transformed this little kitchen into the most popular room in the house.
Tip: The homeowners buy crockery and other utensils only in white and black to ensure the open shelves become a design feature in their own right. Find a similar vintage-style light fitting and old-school pedal waste bin at Schoolhouse (schoolhouse.com).
Colour Pop
In a spacious family home owned by two contemporary jewellery designers – which they share with their two lively young sons – the kitchen combines practical considerations with their penchant for creative display. The space is open plan to the dining area so that the cook can be part of the conversation even when he’s at work behind the counter, and a range of artworks and collectables are combined with cooking essentials on the open shelves.
Tip: Capacious kitchen storage cupboards are essential to a household that entertains family and friends at least once a week, while visual interest is added by such colourful extras as a blue Le Creuset (lecreuset.com) kettle and a bright yellow bread bin by Pedersen + Lennard (pedersenlennard.co.za).
Arch Look
Graphic colour blocking brings spaces to life in this city apartment, while also serving to define them. In the petite kitchen, the homeowner says he opted for unusual colours – including a striking lilac – to create a sense of drama. The arches were added for the purpose of creating a visual separation between the entranceway, which is immediately adjacent to this space, and the kitchen proper. Simple wooden cabinetry was made from boards upcycled during the renovation of the apartment.
Tip: There’s always room for decorative detail: the vintage ceramics are part of the homeowner’s collection of mainly 1950s pieces, which he sources at his favourite Paris flea markets. The sculptural stools were made by a local Afro-French artisan.
All White Now
Designed to invite the outside in – and accommodate lots of small, sandy feet – this open-plan kitchen and dining space, plus an adjacent lounge area, forms the heart of a peaceful weekend coastal retreat. It was briefed to the architect to be “shed-like” by the owners, and the high windows between the exposed eye beams and roof make the sun and sky ever-present elements.
Tip: Texture is key to making the space seem lived-in, with whitewashed and raw wood, and a shell light fitting, contributing a seaside element too. The sheepskins and cowhides add an further layer of comfort and warmth to the large room.
Heritage Twist
Forming part of a family home in a heritage property dating to the late 1800s, this large kitchen is designed to facilitate both cooking and socialising. It’s a resolutely informal space, with cheap and cheerful builder’s work benches from the hardware store used for storage and as preparation surfaces. A set of vintage Wishbone chairs surround the kitchen table, at which plenty of conversation-fuelled meals are taken with family and friends.
Tip: Painting the huge storage dresser black has given this old-school kitchen a modern feel, while a touch of quirky contemporary design has been added in the form of the turned wooden hanging lamps in the shape of classic light bulbs, by designer Porky Hefer (animal-farm.co.za).
Art Works
An open-plan kitchen and dining room that leads out onto a private courtyard space makes this contemporary urban home – owned by an art dealer and consultant – ideal for entertaining. Vintage and roughly hewn, obviously handmade fixtures and furniture pieces offset the use of raw concrete and the very contemporary lines of the space, while the dark blue kitchen joinery adds an element of classic elegance.
Tip: This rustic wooden table was made using joists from a 300-year-old warehouse; commission something similar from a specialist joiner. The industrial hanging lights are original vintage pieces, but a range of similar styles can be sourced from Schoolhouse (schoolhouse.com).
Easy Chic
With a scullery tucked away on one side and its sleek lines heightened by the use of an elegant grey wall colour that was mixed to the homeowner’s specifications – she is an interior designer by trade – this compact kitchen and dining area easily meets the needs of a young family. The white cabinet placed alongside the French doors onto the veranda houses everything needed for the kids’ outdoor activities, including sunscreen and swimming goggles.
Tip: The woven cane pendant lampshades were chosen “to add texture, something softer, to contrast with the steel table,” says the homeowner. The table and chairs are by Gregor Jenkin (gregorjenkin.com). Brass fixtures – the taps are by Bongio (bongio.com) – and pops of white stand out beautifully against the grey walls.
Country Cool
This open-plan kitchen, dining and lounge area in a family’s country home is the pivot around which the rest of the house unfolds. It includes a large preparation island and a wooden dining table and chairs, as well as a tiled splashback that adds to the contemporary farmhouse feel of the space. The industrial-style trio of hanging lamps have bronzed interiors that pick up on the metallic finishes and glazes featured on the vessels on the table.
Tip: The subtle contrast between the monochromatic decor palette and the highlighting flashes of bronze and gold is a classic form of counterpoint, as decorator and designer of the space, Sumari Krige of La Grange Interiors (lagrangeinteriors.co.za), points out.
Light Box
After deciding to turn the former kitchen of this holiday apartment into an extra bedroom, the owners converted the ex-bathroom into this petite kitchen, which is situated off the living and dining room. A palette of white with black accents, plus a combination of narrow open shelving above the countertops and deep (very useful) storage drawers below, give the room a feeling of relative spaciousness for its size. Textural interest comes from natural details such as the basket pendant light and leather drawer pulls.
Tip: A local carpenter made the white-painted storage drawers; the leather handles, glassware, crockery and table lamp are all from Tine K Home (www.tinekhome.com). The black kitchen mixer tap is by Grohe (www.grohe.com).
Heart Of Glass
Tacked neatly onto the side of a historic farm cottage is this inspired, glass-encased take on a kitchen-diner. It’s far from large, especially given its dual function, but the wooden shelving unit was carefully designed both for storage purposes, and to be a semi-permeable screen through which elements of the views from both sides of it could permeate. The extensive glazing also allows for loads of natural light in the room, further contributing to the general sense of spaciousness.
Tip: The wooden shelving is by Prowell Kitchens (prowellkitchens.co.za), and the custom-made table and benches carry through the overall theme of natural wood with white, while also being a very contemporary take on traditional kitchen furniture.
