The clients of this family home in Queenstown were looking for a kitchen that held its own in the large open plan living area, as well as delivering a design statement. A lot of entertaining happens in this space, with friends and family often involving themselves in food preparation and cooking, so functionality was also important.

A small scullery off the kitchen was turned into a 'big boys' pantry which contains sinks, food and utensil storage plus a large number of appliances, enabling the main kitchen space to look more clean and tidy.

The stunning island is the stand-out feature of the kitchen as the clients envisaged this as the key spot to entertain, relax, and linger over coffee (or wine and beer from the very handy drinks fridge).

Corian was the obvious choice for the kitchen island for three main reasons. Firstly, the clients were after a surface that felt warm and soft to touch, not cold and hard like most stone based surfaces. Secondly, unsightly joins can be avoided with Corian as it appears to be seamless, which was very important on a benchtop of this scale. Finally, as the clients and designers were after a dramatic solid black statement, the new Corian Deep Nocturne fitted the bill as it is a super intense and deep black.

The clients and the design team at Melanie Craig Design Partners just love the dramatic and seamless black Corian Deep Nocturne benchtop, which harmonises so beautifully with the warmth of the plywood. An expert design tip from the team— stop the cabinetry short underneath one end of your Corian island benchtop, so that everyone can sit around that end in comfort and enjoy the table-like functionality.