Impala’s clients were a family with two small children who were renovating an old sandstone cottage in Sydney’s inner west. The kitchen was to be sympathetic with the homes’ character and architecture, yet modern and contemporary. The client brief was for storage as the old kitchen afforded little and to allow for seating at an island unit for the kids’ breakfast and snacks as well as an area for homework to be done whilst dinner was being prepared.
To provide ample storage, Impala designed a kitchen with tall cabinets adjacent to the ice-maker fridge and wall oven tower. The tall pantry also has access from the bench top for small appliances which can be closed to hide clutter. The feature sandstone wall was left visible and lighting was installed in a bulkhead above to highlight the wall and provide functional light when cooking or washing up. A stainless steel splash was installed behind the cooktop to protect the sandstone.
The island provides a functional working and eating space with seating as requested in the client brief. Impala recommended a thick stone bench top and waterfall ends to the joinery to balance the design elements and provide a degree of proportion with the large original sandstone blocks.
