Positioned at the north-facing rear of an 1890s Paddington terrace, this dramatic kitchen/dining zone designed for a video artist and her collector partner balances functionality and comfort with visual punch. It is a pivotal space, an open-plan cooking and entertaining hub, with glazed doors opening to a full-width sunny terrace and garden.A dark wall of linear-grooved joinery anchors the kitchen, cooking hub at the terrace end. They’re finished in satin black lacquer while the extractor bulkhead has been wrapped in powder-coated metal and treated to a high-gloss car lacquer finish. Benchtops and splashback are ‘Black Forest’ granite, with a textured leather finish. The adjacent dining space is gallery-like, lined in pearly venetian plaster. Spotlights fixed to intersecting overhead steel beams pinpoint the owner’s artwork, the inspiration for this zone. The floor throughout this level is white oxide tinted cement floor (hydronically-heated). The material is also used in the plinth running the length of the room, supporting the living room fireplace, displaying objects and forming banquette seating. The carefully curated surfaces combine to lustrous effect. Direct sunlight created dramatic shadows on the wall and warms the concrete floor and dining nook, providing thermal benefits. Punctuating the monochromatic palette are the angular powder-coated steel dining table in rich teal blue, and the evergreen garden room beyond.“The stone selection and highly polished metal are a reflection of the creativity, beauty and unique qualities of our client. The sub-tropical plants were selected to reference both her Samoan heritage and exotic glamour.”

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