It’s always a genuine delight to receive a referral from one of your previous clients. But when a previous client comes back to SpaceCraft to build their second kitchen, that’s cause to celebrate. And seeing the couple in question are friends and party people, you can bet the celebrations will be long. And hard. But, when everyone’s sober and the job’s in hand, the question remains: how do you top your first effort and live up to their great expectations the second time around? Especially when the brief is simply: build us an award-winning kitchen. Gulp!

Born and bred in Strathalbyn, this fun and sociable couple are as much a fixture of our town as the Duck Race. After both attended Strath High School, Heidi now works at the local TerryWhite Chemmart, while Nathan (or, Duff, as he’s universally known) is now involved in her family’s mechanical repairs business. Mind you, he is better known as a dead-set legend and stalwart of the Strathalbyn Football Club, having played a phenomenal 430 games for the mighty Roosters. Following in his sizeable footsteps, their two boys, Fletcher and Elliot, both play for the club, too.

In 2011, we worked on the family’s previous kitchen, which served them very well. But, when they outgrew the old home (literally, with the boys tipped to be future Roosters ruckmen), they bought a large block – still in Strath, of course – and called in Duff’s brother, Cary, who’s a partner at Troppo Architects, to design their dream home. To complete the ‘six degrees of Strath’, they engaged Heidi’s brother-in-law, Steven Ness, as builder. (We built a kitchen for Steven and his lovely wife, Sally, earlier in 2017.)

So… the challenge: having been keen to work with us again, Heidi and Duff gave our Nathan (or, Wundy, as they call him) complete creative freedom. No formal brief. Just these words: ‘please give us an award-winning kitchen’. Now, that kind of challenge can be both good and bad. Good because it’s nice to know they have utter faith in your creative abilities. Bad because it can really play on your mind. If you let it echo in your brain every time you sit at the design desk, it can really cramp your style. Would Wundy work a wonder or would he wilt?

To be fair, Heidi did have a few basic requirements: she wanted a freestanding oven, a concealed rangehood, a nice big island bench for the family to sit around and she also let it slip that she fancied a floating, cantilevered top.

This home was never going to be boring with the people who were going to work on it and live in it. Cary designed it with gorgeous rammed-earth feature walls, timber decking that lines almost the entire length of both sides of the home and a sleek skillion roof line. It’s such an inspiration to be presented with this kind of environment to fit out.

Wundy swallowed hard and presented his concepts. And guess what? They loved them all with hardly any changes. What really impressed them was that he’d designed a palette of colours and materials to integrate the joinery for the whole of the home’s interior. Apart from the kitchen design, this included the walk-in pantry, study, robes, vanities, laundry and TV unit. Subtle variation of handles, shadow-line details and benchtop colours made sure each zone had its own signature.

The neutral-coloured high cabinets, intriguing tiles and Caesarstone tops allow the wormy chestnut timber we so love to add its warmth and charm in concert with brass handle accents. Below that, the black traceless cupboards, which are easy to clean and show no fingerprints, relate to Cary’s black window frames. They’re also matched by the black steel frame under the island bench for a touch of that industrial vibe, set off by the pendant lights. And hiding the dishwasher behind panelling maintains the clean restraint that makes it all look so effortless.

By putting their faith in a team of professionals with a proven track record and investing in quality finishes, Heidi and Duff have ended up with a forever home it’s going to be very hard to leave. Not only is it a showpiece, it’s proving to be totally practical and the perfect party house for the perfect party people. Not to mention the perfect clients.