Kitchens + Bathrooms 08 preview

Kitchens + Bathrooms 08.

Clever, efficiently designed spaces in the home are becoming increasingly desirable. We want each room to perform more than one function, every nook and cranny to be used, and storage space to be maximized. We also want these hard-working spaces to be imbued with a personality that reflects our own. This issue of Kitchens + Bathrooms magazine features fifteen inspiring projects that show this trend is especially evident in the most functional rooms of the house: the kitchen and the bathroom.

This year the kitchen is still at the centre of the home, forming the key social hub and circulation core. In some cases, such as in Silvester Fuller’s Jarrah Block House and Edwards Moore’s St Kilda project, even vertical circulation is integrated into the kitchen, with stairwells floating above the benches. The kitchen bench itself now needs to accommodate more than dinner preparation – it’s also a place at which to do homework, a storage unit, a dining table, and somewhere to sit, enjoy a glass of wine and chat to the cook. This social emphasis has extended into the popular inclusion of an informal dining nook or booth adjoining the kitchen, as seen in Breathe Architecture’s Jack and Jill House and the Castlecrag House by TFAD and Tina and Louise Interiors.

Bathroom joinery is now also working harder. The ensuite in Zoë Geyer’s East Melbourne House features a wall cabinet with a door that opens to become a privacy screen for the bath. Such multifunctional joinery adds flair to the bathroom. This is also seen in the design of the guest ensuite at the Middle Park House by KPDO and Chamberlain Javens Architects, where the joinery includes a bar, and at Templeton’s Fitzroy House, where a glass-backed bookshelf against the ensuite shower lets light into the adjacent circulation space.

This issue also includes homes by Anthony Gill Architects, Stephen Collier Architects, Doherty Lynch and Zen Architects, Tobias Partners, Nexus Designs, MG Architects, James Russell Architects and Sam Crawford Architects. All the projects in this issue of Kitchens + Bathrooms will be sure to excite you and inspire you to create your own.

Katelin Butler, editor

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