A compact and classic kitchen by Mint Kitchen Group
Mint Kitchen Group transformed this kitchen in a 1900s Victorian terrace from diminutive and dilapidated to compact and classic. By removing walls and using a light-coloured material palette, the updated kitchen is bright and inviting with storage, bench space and room to move.
The clients, a brother and sister who inherited terrace house from their parents, engaged Mint Kitchen Group, which has been designing award-winning kitchens in Melbourne for more than 30 years.
The original kitchen was little to speak of: A small closed-off room with an upright electric cooker, sink and small round table, plus a separate room with a tiny, shallow pantry. The clients’ brief asked for a practical kitchen with bench space, storage and a breakfast bar for morning coffee and casual drinks and meals with friends. It also needed to be in keeping with the classic style of the Victorian terrace. “We wanted to open up the space to make it an inviting place to sit, chat and enjoy a coffee; suitable for having friends over,” says Frank Iaria, design director of Mint Kitchens.
The design team removed the interior walls to combine the kitchen and pantry, creating a larger, light-filled space. The benchtop wraps around four sides, providing a peninsula island that defines the kitchen space and has an overhanging bench for the clients to pull up stools. Overhead, under-the-bench and (nearly) floor-to-ceiling cupboards greatly increase the storage space without inhibiting natural light through the windows.
Using a light-coloured material palette, including white 2pac joinery and subway tiles for the splashback, also enhances the sense of light and space, and provides a neutral complement to the Sensa benchtop in Bianco Antico, manufactured by Multiform Stone Industries.
Sensa by Cosentino is made from natural stone sourced from India and Brazil which reflects the raw colour and veining inherent to the natural material. Mint Kitchen Group selected maintenance-free and high-quality Sensa to suit the traditional style of the house, as well as for its durable, resistant attributes. “The clients loved the look and feel of the granite. They emphasised the need for low maintenance and appreciated the 15-year guarantee on the protective sealer,” Frank explains. Cosentino applies a protective treatment to each slab of Sensa to provide high stain resistance.
Stainless steel appliances and sink tie the colours of the benchtop and joinery together, as do the decorative brass handles on the Shaker-style doors and drawers.
The revitalised kitchen is now bright, open and practical with enduring materials and style.
Please click here to explore the Sensa collection
