When they came to us, Di and Tony had already renovated their 1920s home, respectfully maintaining its Tudor-style character, fixtures and original fittings. All that was left was the kitchen, which was poky, tired and dated. Their idea was to reface it.

As for style, they were never going to be candidates for a sleek, minimalist, white kitchen. Instead, they wanted to create something in keeping with the period of their home, and which would showcase some of their fabulous antique collection.

Finally, as they both love to cook and spend a good portion of their day in the kitchen, they didn’t just want it to be more functional; it had to be somewhere they’d love to fritter away the hours.

Beyond the aesthetics, however, there was also a major structural challenge: the walls were all out of square. Our work was really cut out for us on this one.

Usually, we support the idea of reusing or recycling fittings. But Nathan knew right away that refacing this kitchen would be a bad long-term decision. The poor original layout would always compromise the best use of a very limited space. To their credit, Di and Tony conceded the best course of action would be to start afresh.

So, in order to maximise the space and create a better flow within the room, we moved a doorway. This had the added benefit of freeing up a corner to create a walk-in pantry.

Nathan’s design had to complement the home’s history without looking dowdy or being a parody. In the end, he suggested solid Tasmanian oak doors with bolection moulding and V-groove paneling, finished in a 30% acid-catalysed clear coating. The timber’s gorgeous colour works beautifully with Di’s antique copper collection, which now hangs proudly on the walls and adorns the window ledge.

For her antique Wedgwood china, there’s now also a glass-fronted display cupboard with diamond-shaped leadlights, mirroring the home’s original windows. A ceramic-tile splashback with grey grout lines echoes the leadlighting, whilst providing additional texture and pattern without being too busy in the small space.

Finally, to accommodate the irregularity of the walls, all the cabinetry was built with 16-mm voids, which allowed us to plane each touch-point as necessary for perfect fit. Naturally, that took our installers considerable time and patience. The end result, however, was well worth it: not only is it a warm, inviting and comforting kitchen space that works seamlessly with the rest of the home for Di and Tony; for us, it was selected as a finalist in the 2014 Kitchen & Bathroom Designers’ Institute of Australia small kitchen awards.