BO N U S TOP IC :

THE LOW-DOWN
ON OUR KITCHENS
2 — THE RENO SCHOOL THE LOW-DOWN ON OUR KITCHENS— 3

THE LOW-DOWN ON
OUR KITCHENS
MODULE FOUR – BONUS TOPIC

When you’re in kitchen-renovation-mode you’ll

probably catch yourself looking at your friends’
kitchens much more closely than you ever have
before … taking in the finer details of their choices

By Erin like the thickness of their benchtop, the size of their

oven and the overall layout. This is a great thing to
do as it gives you a real-life example of some of the
choices you might be about to make. If you’re not
sure what size island will work for you, pop around
to a friend’s house with a tape measure and see how
you like the size of theirs.

To help you design your dream kitchen, we’ve pulled

together some of the details from our kitchen renos.
If there is a detail we haven’t covered for you, just
ask us on the Facebook group.
4 — THE RENO SCHOOL THE LOW-DOWN ON OUR KITCHENS— 5

OUR RELAXED, COASTAL KITCHEN: HOUSE 2

This kitchen was designed to be a destination Bunnings pendants

zone within the house. It was originally
located in the middle of a long room, making
and French doors
it a thoroughfare rather than a place the family Pendant height 65cm
wanted to spend time in. The kitchen needed
to be an open, breezy space that invited
people to take a seat. By moving it to the end
of the long room, we created a new alfresco
zone directly off the kitchen. With its custom-
built breakfast bar and gas-strut window, that
MODULE FOUR – BONUS TOPIC

new entertaining space was fully integrated

into the kitchen. The finishing touch was 40mm Talostone
adding a pair of French doors leading directly
out to the pool, giving mum and dad the Carrara Classic
perfect view of the kids while preparing
an early summer’s dinner.

20mm timber bench from Bunnings

Gas strut window

Before Ikea sink

6 — THE RENO SCHOOL THE LOW-DOWN ON OUR KITCHENS— 7

OUR HAMPTONS KITCHEN: HOUSE 3

This space was transformed from a dark, skinny rumpus room to a light and airy Pendant
entertainer’s kitchen. The challenge was making the kitchen look as big as possible,
so of course lots of white was used along with multiple French doors to let in as much height
natural light as we could get. One of the best design decisions we made in this kitchen 85mm
was running the Calacatta engineered stone benchtop up the splashback for a luxe
finish.

Shaker doors
MODULE FOUR – BONUS TOPIC

40mm Engineered
Stone Arctic White Ikea knobs

Before Shadowline Waterfall

20mm Engineered Edge Laminate flooring
Stone Calacatta Gold
8 — THE RENO SCHOOL THE LOW-DOWN ON OUR KITCHENS— 9

OUR NEW CLASSIC KITCHEN: HOUSE 4

For this house, we pushed the boat out and went with a custom made kitchen manufactured in the Shaker doors in Silkwort by Dulux
same paint colour as the feature stairwell in this house (that’s Silkwort by Dulux, if you’re curious). Since
the cabinetry was the star of the show we went for stone benchtops with muted tones and some soft
grey veins. Matt black tapware, pendant lights and handles ensured this kitchen felt modern despite
the more traditional splashback and open shelving. With a gas-strut window overlooking a peaceful
garden and deck, this kitchen became a place to relax and unwind in. Matte black tap from Meir

20mm Engineered Stone

MODULE FOUR – BONUS TOPIC

Pendant height 65mm

Before
Gas strut window
10cm square tiles laid in brick pattern

Oz Design tractor stools

20mm Engineered Stone

Carrara Gioia
Laminate flooring
Shadowline Waterfall Edge
10 — THE RENO SCHOOL THE LOW-DOWN ON OUR KITCHENS— 11

OUR COTTAGE WITH A TWIST KITCHEN: HOUSE 5

We wanted this kitchen to evoke a strong sense of feeling relaxed, grounded and inspired,

and that was all going to come through in the  materials  and  colours  we chose. We went
with green cabinetry, marble-look Caesarstone, gold and silver finishes, lots of greenery and
flowers and light-coloured flooring. We also wanted the kitchen to flow seamlessly into the
living spaces around it so we integrated all the appliances so to make it looks less ‘kitcheny’.
Because we were keeping the kitchen open, we decided to have no overhead cabinetry and
include a floating shelf for displaying pretty things. We also chose an island with legs on it,
to make it look more like a beautiful piece of furniture. There is no one thing that makes this
kitchen work, it’s the combination of all these elements that create the magic and flow.
MODULE FOUR – BONUS TOPIC

Pendant height 75mm

Integrated
Rangehood
Before
Fixed Faux plant Integrated
Rangehood 60cm Fridge
6omm Caesarstone
Caeserstone Statuario Statuario Nuvo
Integrated CoolDrawer
Nuvo splashback
Integrated DishDrawer
Dorf Vixen Laminate flooring
Retractable Mixer
12 — THE RENO SCHOOL THE LOW-DOWN ON OUR KITCHENS— 13

OUR SANTORINI-INSPIRED KITCHEN: HOUSE 6

In her Forever Home, Lana wanted a kitchen Fixed rangehood Plant height 85cm
that felt like a modern version of what you
might find in Santorini. We took a minimalist
approach, using discreet cabinet fronts with no
handles and fully integrated appliances. The
items we wanted to draw attention to were the
island bench (with its amazing mitred waterfall
Integrated 90cm Butlers Office
edge), the splashback (with its climbing
Caesarstone and stand-alone rangehood) and Flush Gas Cooktop
the pops of greenery hanging from the ceiling.
MODULE FOUR – BONUS TOPIC

The butler’s office was an innovation for us –

something Lana designed from scratch based
HardieGroove ceiling Cimbination
on the needs of her family. It’s not for everyone, Gas-strut window oven/mircowave
but it definitely works in this kitchen thanks to & servery Shark nose
the raised platform, which differentiates the two
finger pulls Integrated Double
zones, and the fact that it’s cleverly concealed
behind a half-wall. Faux plant DishDrwaer

Flat front doors in

Dulux Lexicon Half
Satin finish
Integrated French door
fridge
Before
60mm Caeserstone
Calcatta Nuvo
Mitred Edge

Woodcut engineered timber in Pearl White Oz Design Tokyo Stools

14 — THE RENO SCHOOL THE LOW-DOWN ON OUR KITCHENS— 15

OUR RIVER SHACK KITCHEN: HOUSE 7

Pendant height 70cm
The smallest kitchen we ever created is
still one of our favourites. We wanted this Simon Davidson artwork
kitchen to have a sleek and modern look,
so we stained the timber veneer cabinets in
Black by Dulux. For Bon, it was a no-brainer
Sayon Axon cladding
that we had to choose a black benchtop, so 60cm integrated painted in Parchement
the Vanilla Noir Caesarstone was perfect. To Paper by Dulux
make this room feel as large as possible we fridge
chose not to have any overhead cabinets
and we integrated every appliance we
MODULE FOUR – BONUS TOPIC

could. Even the washing machine and dryer

are hidden behind the cupboards! With
no room for an island bench, we decided to
put a dining table close by. The indoor/ 20mm
outdoor servery makes the kitchen feel much Integrated
Caesarstone
bigger than it is.
Dishwasher
Combination oven/micro Vanilla Noir

Luxaflex aluminium
shutters

Before
Dorf matte Indoor/outdoor servery
black tap

Australian Oak Timber veneer

16 — THE RENO SCHOOL THE LOW-DOWN ON OUR KITCHENS— 17

OUR MODERN COASTAL BARN KITCHEN: HOUSE 8

In Bonnie’s Dream home, she made her kitchen the heart of the home, anchoring it with a Fixed rangehood
5m island bench centred under 6m raked ceilings and a chandelier so big you could swing
from it. We’ve never done a kitchen more integrated than this. Bon wanted it to look and 90cm
feel like beautiful, built-in furniture that had all the features and luxuries of a modern kitchen,
hidden seamlessly behind paneled cabinetry. She chose a thick 300mm apron of Caesarstone Induction
Statuatio Maximus around the island and her cooktop. And in true Three Birds’ style, there’s cooktop
a huge indoor/outdoor servery (with its own sink) connecting the kitchen to the alfresco area
outside.
Dorf Madi Mixer
matt white
300mm Caesarstone
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Statuario Maximus
mitred edge

Pendant height
1200cm

Integrated Integrated
V-groove cabinetry in 90cm fridge ovens
Bi-fold window & servery
Dulux White-on White
Integrated CoolDrawer
Integrated DishDrawer Ziggy stools -
Space to Create

Woodcut engineered timber

in White Oiled
18 — THE RENO SCHOOL THE LOW-DOWN ON OUR KITCHENS— 19

Euro Laundry
Reece matt
black mixer
OUR BOLD EXTENSION KITCHEN: HOUSE 9

We knew this light-filled extension could really handle a bold, feature colour in the kitchen to
give it some personality and warmth, but we didn’t want it to be too trendy and risk looking out 60mm Caesarstone
of date 12 months later #exyerror The secret to creating a colourful kitchen that will stand the
White Attica
test of time is not to overdo it. We limited the bold green hue to the island only and combined
modern elements (like the brass knobs and black display case) with more traditional features
(like the beaded cabinetry and butler’s sink). And rather than give up a whole room in the house 610mm ceramic
for a laundry, we tucked a Euro-style one at the end of this kitchen #seamlessconvenience
butler’s sink
MODULE FOUR – BONUS TOPIC

Integrated
Dishwasher

Scyon Axon
ceiling panels Display cabinet in Dulux Black

796mm Dulux White-On-White

fridge Beaded 2-pac in
satin finish

White Attica Caesarstone

60cm Induction cooktop

Dulux
Lorna
Before

Hybrid Flooring
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