Set within an architecturally significant building on Macquarie Street, this Sydney CBD apartment presented an unusual design challenge. The building’s modern heritage listing meant the new kitchen needed to respect the intent of the original architecture, while the existing footprint, structural constraints and limited access left little room for expansion.
Rather than making the kitchen more prominent, the clients chose to retain its discreet position behind the central dividing wall. Working within essentially the same footprint, we reorganised the cabinetry to approximately double the available storage while accommodating substantially larger appliances, including a 900mm Sub-Zero refrigerator and integrated wine storage.
Material choices also responded to the architecture. White cabinetry and black granite established a restrained palette, while textured copper doors introduced colour drawn from the building’s distinctive external cladding.
The project extended beyond the kitchen to a new home office, where a curved wall and limited space required equally precise custom joinery. Together, the two spaces demonstrate how existing architectural constraints can become useful parameters for a more resolved interior within a Sydney CBD context.
The home office is located in a room with a curved wall which influenced the design.
A combination of American Walnut and white polyurethane were chosen for the colour palette.
The walnut joinery display and storage unit.
An illustration of the home office.
The kitchen has two entrances thanks to a central dividing wall. This dividing wall also provides a place to position tall kitchen cabinetry/appliances, as well as a blank canvas for artwork.
The other entrance.
A de-saturated style with white doors and black granite benchtop.
A large Sub-Zero refrigerator and wine storage were included in the design at great effort as the kitchen space was tight and accessibility into the building was very limited.
Pitted copper doors are the only elements of colour in the kitchen. The copper was chosen because of the similarity to the building’s distinctive external cladding.
Cooking zone with Miele induction cooktop and matching integrated rangehood.
So as to be as sensitive to the original architects design as possible, the footprint of the kitchen remained changed.
A photo-realistic illustration produced by Dan Kitchens Australia for the clients as part of the Kitchen Design Service.
Gorgeous views from the kitchen over the Royal Botanic Gardens and beyond.
The completed project makes considerably better use of two highly constrained areas without compromising the architectural character of the apartment. The kitchen accommodates increased storage and larger appliances while remaining discreetly contained behind the wall as originally intended, while the home office responds directly to the room’s curved geometry. American walnut and white polyurethane provide a consistent material language across the new joinery and help the additions sit comfortably within the interior.
For over 40 years, the Dan Kitchens luxury kitchen showroom has brought Scandinavia’s best designs to life. Sydney’s most refined custom kitchens and sophisticated joinery are custom made in the adjoining production complex.
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