Kitchen Design Fulfils Chefs’ Wishlist
The kitchen could not be a more important part of the home, especially for these two families – who count avid cooks and training chefs among those who use their kitchen the most!
With five children and three grandchildren, having to cook a meal for a small army in a small kitchen was a difficult task for Dianne and Phil Garside. Add to the mix son Russell who is studying culinary arts, and their kitchen is not just a place for family cooking, but a major foundation for a serious career.
“That’s why we were completely sold on Jag – they built to size and we could have what we wanted without having to pay through the roof,” Dianne says.
Jag Kitchens’ free design quote was so reasonable, Phil could even have a sleek, new coffee machine which sits with pride of place in the new kitchen.
Dianne says the Jag Kitchens design team were a pleasure to work with. “They were really helpful when my son Russell initially didn’t want a sink in the kitchen. The designers could see it becoming a potential problem and we’re glad we have it now.”
As an aspiring professional chef, Russell wanted a stainless steel benchtop despite Dianne’s preference for engineered stone.
The solution: a linen coil finish in stainless steel. It’s a good compromise. Softening the look of stainless steel in a residential environment, but still retaining all the properties of brushed steel.
To utilise the space as much as possible, Dianne asked for cabinetry to fill the space under the stairs. Previously, a blind double pantry flanked a narrow bench space and was not easy to get to. Now, there are low ample drawers all around the island and the kitchen – in a light grey and white textured Dezignatek wrap finish – perfect for their grandchildren’s height.
Artistic flair is also evident in the home thanks to Phil who is an amateur artist – and the kitchen is no exception. Tinted green jars are reused for lights, there is a turquoise (Dianne’s favourite colour) splashback, and an LED light ribbon under the bench, all serving as the finishing touches to this fun, quirky kitchen.
Similarly, Caroline Kean – chef in training and avid cook – knew exactly what she wanted in a new kitchen. So when her and husband Andy’s 1980s home was due for a facelift, the Bucklands Beach couple decided to renovate the kitchen too.
“It was well overdue and needed to be done – it was an old style kitchen,” says Caroline.
Being locals, the Jag Kitchens showroom in Botany immediately sprang to mind, and once they had met the Jag Kitchens design team, the decision was clear.
“We really hit it off with Jag and felt confident they were best for the job.”
As the main cook of the household, Caroline already had firm ideas of what she wanted. With some help from Jag, those ideas were further developed. She was set on the idea of a pantry, which was what the original kitchen had featured, however upon detailed discussion with the Jag Kitchens design team, she realised drawers would be much easier.
“I’m so glad we chose drawers – getting stuff out of the pantry would’ve been a nightmare!” says Caroline, who has painstakingly arranged each drawer. Labelled spices sit side by side with military precision, and the dinnerware is equally impressive with every dish and plate arranged as if in a china cabinet.
Other details truly take the kitchen into a class of its own. The full wall separating the kitchen and the living room has been opened up into a partial wall, a microwave is elegantly embedded in the splash back, a coffee machine and its plugs are hidden away from view with the help of cabinetry, and a neutral engineered stone bench top finishes with a waterfall end for added pizzazz.
“Getting the design right was the most important part, and Jag Kitchens really helped with that process,” says Caroline.
Jag Kitchens specialise in custom-designed kitchens and has its own manufacturing plant. The staff also use a state-of-the-art 3D computer design programme to show clients beforehand exactly how their new kitchen will look.
Jag Kitchens has an excellent reputation for designing and building for all budgets and for providing an outstanding design service with sound advice.
Visit the Jag Kitchens Showroom, located inside the Danske Mobler building at the Botany Town Centre, for more information on a wide range of materials and design options or to see more kitchen examples.