Meet the Designer: Colleen Holder
Tags: Dekton, Dekton by Cosentino, interior design, Kitchen, kitchen countertop | 2 years ago | Written by: Cosentino
What are you known for?
I love to cook and entertain and I understand the importance of a kitchen that functions well in the core of the home. My design philosophy comes with a passion to create beautiful and inspiring spaces that reflect my client’s individuality and lifestyle and I understand that every room in a home needs to be fit for purpose.
What’s your favourite Cosentino product to work with?
Dekton is my favourite product currently. I love the versatility of it and how hard wearing it is. There are plenty of colour options to choose from — two of my favourites are Kelya and Radium — and it’s my first choice of benchtop material currently.
Tell us about a recent project you’ve worked on.
The client brief for a recent renovation was to have two work zones for a household of busy adults on different schedules, so they could cater to their needs at different times. To achieve this, we closed off one of the entranceways into the kitchen and removed some walls to create a scullery in its place. A separate drinks station and seating area were also requested and needed to be away from the main work areas. The client wanted the kitchen to have a dark and moody feel to it in contrast to the white walls and high ceiling. To create this, we used Dekton Kelya which went well with the dark-stained, oak-veneer cabinetry. Our home spaces have become very important to us, especially since the pandemic, and they need to be totally functional and suit our needs and lifestyle.
What’s your top tip when it comes to creating a kitchen?
Consider your storage needs very carefully. Placement of all items needs to be considered, including drawer heights for specific items to ensure they fit the space correctly. I think sometimes, as a designer, we get caught up creating something as close to the client brief as we can get it, but it is often wise to step aside and look critically from a personal perspective and ask yourself if, given the same brief, the design would work for you?
What design trend can we expect to see more of in 2022?
I am seeing a lot more timber veneer and wood grain melamines, sometimes combined with black, white or a solid colour. Porcelain or similar benchtops are predominant at the moment. We can expect to see more earthy or natural tones and materials that take us back to nature, interesting tile formats, lots of the colour green and an eclectic mix of old and new and recycled materials in interiors.
