They say you never forget your first puppy, car, kiss, date… whatever. But Bre Parkes can add one more ‘first’ to her personal list: the first kitchen she’s designed and installed for SpaceCraft Joinery. As the newest addition to our design staff, promoted from within after a year impressing Nathan with her talent, it’s a landmark achievement in what we hope will be a long and successful career at SpaceCraft. But, of course, on top of that, she can also add one more novel experience: having her first satisfied clients, Jennifer and Peter, who can now live happily ever after with the result of Bre’s smart design.

Seventeen years and three children ago, Jennifer and Peter purchased one of the gorgeous Art Deco bungalows planted amongst the trees in the outer eastern suburbs of Adelaide. By 2020, their ageing kitchen was long overdue for an update and while the world was going mad, they made the smart choice to renovate.

When they first talked to SpaceCraft, Jennifer and Peter made it clear they wanted a design to complement the home’s Art Deco heritage and design ‘bones’. That gave Bre plenty of inspiration to draw on, in both senses. Starting with a clean slate would allow them to indulge their desire for the open-plan living of contemporary homes and provide all the bench space and extra storage the family of five really needed. Unusually, though, they decided that the floor plan of the dining/living area would suit them better without any seating at the centre island. That’s why we build one-of-a-kind.

In her consultations, Bre teased out a brief with Jennifer and Peter that not only established that big-picture idea of what they were after, but also the fine detail of things that would make life more amenable. After all, if you’re going to start from scratch, it’s your chance – finally – to get everything you’ve ever dreamed of. Well, within your budget, of course.

One of the things Bre discovered at her first inspection was a newly constructed exposed brick wall. Without context and next to the old cabinetry, it was all a bit stark. But in the new vision, they were all keen to make it a feature. The jarrah flooring had to stay, of course. Overall, Jennifer and Peter wanted a neutral colour palette with either a green or blue for the cabinetry along with, perhaps, some American oak as a feature. They were also keen on the shaker profile that introduces a subtle recess into the cupboard doors. And the benchtop? Either stone or concrete for a little no-nonsense industrial influence.

Being an old home, it has high ceilings. Apart from allowing for lots of storage, it also adds to the feeling of space, so that was definitely to be a design consideration. And in keeping with the streamlined Art Deco style, there had to be curves. And open shelving. Curved open shelving? Bre couldn’t wait to channel her Deco diva and get stuck in.

According to Bre, the key to this design was the colour of the joinery. Obviously, it was going to be the dominant feature. But it also had to work with all the other elements: the newly created exposed brick wall, the jarrah flooring, the American oak and the concrete benchtops. Tricky for even the most experienced designer. But once she worked that out, it all fell into place. And the winner is: Laminex Spinifex, a subtle blue/green that gives a gracious nod to the Art Deco era. It was always her first choice and her instincts didn’t let her down.

Next problem was figuring out the traffic flow as the kitchen sits at a junction of multiple doorways. This would dictate where the joinery could be positioned and what form it would take. In the end, there are four banks of joinery but the combination of materials, textures and colours is so harmonious, it all works seamlessly. And those Art Deco curves aid the traffic flow a little more and make the space feel even more generous.

The back wall of the joinery forms the appliance hub, incorporating a freestanding fridge, ASKO oven tower and Miele induction cooktop. Here, the overheads extend all the way to the ceiling and the Polytec Oberon doors bear a subtle 3-millimetre recess for a hint of shadow play and are finished in Blossom two-pack, a not-too-stark white which glows in the afternoon sun that streams into this part of the home.

The overhead cupboards on the side buffet sport the same doors but are shorter to link this area to the adjacent living/dining area with that open, curved shelving aiding the transition. Across the other side of the kitchen, it’s mirrored by a similar set of shelves to maintain that Deco symmetry. The tall cabinet next to it houses the pantry with four inner drawers, along with tall space for the mop, vacuum and broom. Clean design, indeed.

The exposed brick wall found its industrial soul-mate in the 30-millimetre concrete benchtops, whilst that hoped-for touch of American oak features beneath them in a 12-millimetre shadow-line as well as in the open shelving to tie it all together. Stainless-steel handles carry across all the doors.

With no need to cater for seating at the island, Bre could maximise the storage here as well as in the tall cabinetry with hidden-access, push-to-open doors. You’d be amazed by just how much this kitchen hides. But this also allowed Bre to create some further interest to the island back, using the hand-glazed ceramic finger tiles that also feature on the splashbacks with a light grey grout that relates to the concrete benchtops.

For the task lighting, Bre used under-cabinet LED strips in the food preparation areas of the prime cooking zone and on the side buffet. But the stars of the show are undoubtedly the three frosted-glass pendants, which have a dimmer switch to offer the right mood for any time of the day.

Jennifer’s one sentimental carry-over from her old kitchen is a stainless-steel tea-towel holder, which now lives on the end of the buffet on an American oak rail. Cleverly, though, to maintain the clean lines but still keep the towels at hand, the unit is recessed behind the drawer fronts.

So, Jennifer and Peter got their dream kitchen. And Bre had a dream start to her design career at SpaceCraft with hardly any of the usual problems we normally encounter on renovations. That’s got to be a first.