7 Statement Kitchen Design Ideas

Kitchens sell houses - or make you never want to sell - especially if they make a statement. Think creatively and consider these tips before starting the design for your dream kitchen.

Amp Up The Extractor

You may not get excited about an extractor, let alone think of it as a design feature! Usually an extractor is a standard stainless steel funnel-looking shape installed above your cooktop to suck up all the steam. But there are so many possibilities to turning this into a major kitchen feature. You can timber clad it and paint it, add panelling, line it with stone or metal. In this kitchen we created a simple timber frame painted white to create a streamlined yet stylish design to complement the statement natural stone.

Design the Ultimate Island

Islands are my favourite kitchen design feature because you can make them a work of art that creates a focal point for the entire living space. This kitchen design features the dark cabinetry seen elsewhere to balance the look, handy cupboards for extra storage, an inset area for stools and waterfall ends in natural stone.

Select a Statement Slab

If you have a long kitchen, opt for a large slab size to avoid seeing too many joins in the stone (a key detail when you have a defined pattern). Stone and engineered stone slabs come in different sizes including jumbo 3.2m x 1.8m, so it pays to compare the benchtop size you’ve planned to the size of the slab you want. Here we have used Superwhite dolomite on the island and a more cost effective Silestone on the rear bench.

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Stone comes in standard widths, the most common being 20mm. Any wider and pieces need to be cut separately and mitred together to create a block of stone. So to keep labour costs down opt for standard width stone as we have done here.

Make a Splash

The splashback is a great area to show off the style of your kitchen. It’s a focal point and an opportunity to be creative. You can use materials like the benchtop stone, mirror, tile or metal – just make sure the style works with your benchtop and lighting and it’s practical to clean. This splashback is Superwhite dolomite and we’ve lined it up with the shutter profiles to give the space an elongated feel.

Add a Bar

Feel like your kitchen is just a factory cranking out the same old food? Running a household is constant work and you deserve to have areas just for you; places that encourage hobbies or activities that YOU love. Challenge storage in other areas of the kitchen to see if it can accommodate a bar. It’s great for having friends over for drinks but can also be used as a smoothie bar, juice bar, and coffee and tea bar. Here we took space out of the adjoining room to create a bar in the hallway beside the kitchen. Using the same cabinetry and stone as the kitchen, and adding a moody mirror adds a luxe hotel vibe.

Use Textured cabinetry

Cabinets can be finished in almost any colour and texture to be cohesive with your overall design, so choose a profile that suits your theme. Wainscoted suits a farmhouse chic, straight panels look great in coastal homes, and simple fronts are ultra-modern. You can keep drawer styles clean and simple and use the finish and the hardware to ramp up the space, or use coloured cabinetry to make a statement. In this kitchen we used black stained oak with a panelled profile so you can see and feel the wood grain texture.

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Invest in quality hardware like hinges if you can. While they’re not seen, a drooping cupboard door will be! Soft and smooth closing drawers and cupboards helps to avoid noise and hurt fingers, and the strength of the hinges keeps the cabinetry you’ve invested in streamlined.

Show Off Shelving

Kitchens need to be so hardworking they can often end up looking utilitarian. Open shelving to display ceramics, plants or cookbooks creates a design moment, adds different textures, and breaks up large areas of cabinetry. Only bother if you’re up for the styling challenge though and keep the number of shelves to a minimum, otherwise you may end up with clutter and dust being the main feature! Here we walled off one end of the kitchen to create a secret scullery with a statement splashback and open shelving.

By Shelley Ferguson