Sometimes the hardest part of renovating a kitchen is deciding to let go of the one you already have.
Our Stanmore Bay clients had lived with their solid timber kitchen for years and spent plenty of time considering how they could update it without losing the character of their home. After much back and forth, they decided to start again — creating an entirely new kitchen while retaining subtle connections to the original.
Having worked with Fluid Interiors on previous projects, there was already a good understanding of how the clients like to live. The aim was to create a kitchen that worked better for them while still feeling eclectic, relaxed and at home in its surroundings.
Opening up the space
Removing the existing return opened the kitchen to the dining and living areas, creating a much stronger connection between the spaces. The clients were keen to retain the sink and cooking areas facing the window, as they love looking outside while cooking and washing up.
A custom plate stainless-steel benchtop brings a practical, hardworking surface to the kitchen, while the substantial stainless-steel upstand adds character and creates opportunities for additional storage.
Colour, timber and a little bit of fun
The material palette was carefully chosen to complement the existing home rather than compete with it.
Quarter Lemongrass was selected as a soft, neutral that worked with the surrounding colours without feeling as stark as white. The clients had fallen for Laminex Burnt Ochre, so we paired it with birch plywood and exposed the ply edges. The timber softens the stronger ochre tone while creating a visual connection to the original kitchen and the home's existing timber elements.
Oak pull handles continue that warmth, while Hettich InnoTech Atira soft-close drawers provide practical everyday functionality. Curved floating shelves add a playful detail, with integrated lighting inside the bifold pantry adding warmth in the evenings. Artedomus splashback tiles bring another layer of texture to the space.
A connection to the original
Although the kitchen is entirely new, the original solid timber benchtops have been refinished and reused on the bifold pantry, curved shelving and hutch dresser tops.
It is a small detail, but an important one. Bringing some of the original timber into the new kitchen gives the space a sense of continuity and helps it feel naturally connected to the home.
Extending into the living room
The renovation also included wall-to-wall TV and storage cabinetry in the living room. Finished in white with CS Studios Fleck Oak knobs, it provides generous storage while allowing the stronger kitchen colours to remain the focal point.
The result is a kitchen that feels distinctly personal — practical, characterful and well connected to the home around it. The clients are thrilled with the transformation and regularly hear comments from visitors who see the space and immediately love it.
After years of considering how to update their kitchen, they are now very happy they chose to start again. The result feels new, but still unmistakably theirs.
