Kitchen Covet | Exploring a Designer’s Eye for Details

Avenue Marceau Apartment by Helene Van Marcke Interior Architecture Studio

The Avenue Marceau Apartment in Paris by Hélène Van Marcke Interior Architecture Studio was designed with dinner parties in mind. “We wanted a space that could function as an open and free-flowing part of daily family life, yet able to be closed off for a private chef or caterer on more formal occasions,” Hélène says. The glass partitions segment the kitchen, allowing cooking to be viewed from the dining room “without the ‘cooking in your living room’ disadvantages,” Hélène adds.

The material palette expands on what has been used elsewhere in the apartment to avoid the kitchen feeling “overly technical”. High cabinetry is the same colour as the walls, and oak cabinetry around the central island blends with the Point de Hongrie oak parquet flooring. The marble benchtop and splashback reflect the living room fireplace. “To create a néo-Haussmann atmosphere, we used old materials in a contemporary design,” Hélène says. “The kitchen reflects a modest luxury; free-flowing, casual and quietly sophisticated.”

Mariehill by Liljencrantz Design

Stockholm, Sweden

The Mariehill kitchen lies within an Arts and Crafts red-brick apartment in central Stockholm, originally designed by Swedish architect Isak Clason. The architect was an influential figure at the turn of the century in Sweden– a legacy multidisciplinary practice Liljencrantz Design principal Louise Liljencrantz wanted to embrace in the kitchen design process. “Our research started with a box of architectural drawings and family photographs from the apartment’s early days,” she says. “Seeing the original kitchen inspired us to design overhead cupboards with a sliding ladder and to clad an entire wall with hand-glazed zellige tiles.”

A Transylvania limestone island, Dornbracht tapware and Veermakers Strict walnut and leather bar stools designed by Liljencrantz Design, complete the designer’s contemporary take on preserving the home’s old soul.

East Village Apartment Kitchen by GRT Architects

New York City, North America

In an early-20th-century apartment in East Village, New York City, GRT Architects have honoured the building’s original idea of a room – where spaces were separated by function – in a contemporary way. Floor transitions mark the separation of the kitchen, and some of the cabinetry is suspended on brass legs to give the kitchen the “unique feeling of being defined as a room and connected to surrounding spaces,” GRT Architects founding partner Tal Schori says. Brass also intersects the ceiling, cabinetry and benchtop to “support the concept without calling detail to themselves”.

Burgundy tiles clad the kitchen island as an ode to the building’s mosaic corridors and lobby, while oversized solid oak pulls are a practical and playful cabinetry detail. “The kitchen can feel like the part of a home that most resembles a product showroom,” Tal says. “I think what we showed with this kitchen is that customised details and foregrounding colour, shape and texture can go a long way to making the kitchen feel more integrated with the rest of the home,” he adds.

Ultramarine Kitchen by Decus Interiors

Sydney, Australia

As the heart of a Federation-era home in Sydney’s Mosman, the Ultramarine kitchen by Decus was designed to be “simple with thoughtful details”.  Following the client’s brief for a kitchen that wasn’t too formal, the result has accentuated waterfront views through corresponding curves and a coastal-inspired material palette.“We wanted to bring texture to the space without making it feel too heavy,” Decus founder and director Alexandra Donohoe Church says. “Layering materials helped us achieve this; the oak and granite feel warm together while also capturing the coastal context that we wanted the whole home to exude,” she adds.

Bullnose detail across the vertical and horizontal surfaces and the granite’s leather finish soften the design, together with custom-stained American oak joinery that leads into an adjoining scullery. “Beyond its functionality, the kitchen experience is incredibly tactile,” Alexandra says. “It’s one of those spaces you want to run your hand across every surface.”

Holiday Home by Nathalie Deboel

Knokke-Heist, Belgium

A concrete beam was the starting point for the Knokke-Heist kitchen, designed by Nathalie Deboel for a holiday home in the Belgian seaside town. Based on a concept where the soft balances out the hard, the interior designer says they see the kitchen as more of an installation within the industrial setting. “We wanted to integrate the concrete detail into the design, instead of hiding it,” Nathalie says. “For us, it’s a story about contrast and harmony; the concrete beam and the stainless steel, in combination with the softer palette of polished concrete floors and clay wall finish.”

The stainless steel door panels reveal the work of the maker, allowing  for the kitchen to feel as much a part of the living area without “taking over the space”.