An Open Plan Kitchen, Living and Dining Room in Kilsyth, Victoria

After renovating the main bathroom, guest bathroom and home office of this house in Churchill Way, Kilsyth, Victoria it was time for Paul Cree of Refresh Renovations and his Construction Manager, Tas Boucher to return and commence work on the next, and most important part of this phased renovation: the kitchen and living areas.
The kitchen is the heart of any home, a place to congregate, prepare and share meals, and talk about the events of the working day. With a separate kitchen, dining and living room, it was time to knock down the dividing walls and create one large open plan area to integrate the kitchen, living and dining functions of this home.

The project was delivered on time and within the A$60k budget

House renovation priorities

To enable us to remove a number of internal walls, we needed to make significant structural modifications to maintain the integrity of the house,” said
Paul. “We installed two large steel beams in the roof to remove the load from the roof weight on the internal walls and to transfer the weight to the external walls.
Because the new steel beams were above the existing windows, upgraded lintels were also required, as were additional studs and stumps to transfer the weight of the roof from the steel beams down the walls and into the ground,” he added.
The old wiring was removed and replaced with new wiring, compliant with Australian Standards. Our dependence on electronic equipment in this day and age, means our homes need many more outlets to provide adequate power for the safe operation of our household appliances and computer systems. The new room was fitted with plenty of power points and new switches to meet the needs of the family.

Creating indoor-outdoor flow

A window in the old dining room was removed and enlarged to accommodate a bi-fold door, opening to the deck outside, whilst the window in the kitchen was replaced with a sliding window, which now moves to one side to be used as a servery when entertaining outdoors.
“We love to entertain and our new servery and easy outdoor access make this a whole lot easier now. It creates a seamless indoor/outdoor flow”” said the Homeowner.
A new Amorini kitchen was installed featuring Miro-Stone benchtops, a double under-mount sink, with black tapware, and all new appliances. A white, single tile diamond pattern splashback adds a strong element of interest to the clean lines of this new kitchen. 

Installing an island bench

“The island bench, with drawers for storage, and a power outlet, can be used as a additional workspace for meal preparation or as a casual eating area,” said Paul.
With a waterfall edge of Miro-Stone and a timber backing to match the oak floor, the island bench is perfectly positioned and styled to catch the eye, as you enter the house through the front door. A black hexagonal pendant light fixture above the bench and industrial style stools compliment and complete the picture.
Plantation shutters on the windows enhance the modern ambiance of the room. With shutters fitted in other rooms in the home too, these contribute to the consistent style throughout the house.

Home renovation results

Dimmable LED down-lights in the ceiling address the evening lighting whilst under-cabinet strip lights provide task lighting in the kitchen. Engineered oak timber flooring was installed throughout the space to complete the transformation of the three rooms into one large functional and delightful open-plan space, which will serve the family well for many years to come.
“Having worked with Paul and Tas on the previous renovation of our bathrooms and study, we were very confident that they would deliver the desired result, and they did just that.  The project was delivered on time and within the A$60k budget. We are delighted with the outcome and particularly love the multifunctional use of the space. There are places to cook, eat and relax, with easy indoor/outdoor access,” said the very happy Homeowner.

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*All information is believed to be true at the time of publishing and is subject