SA’s 25 best kitchens revealed

Inbuilt aquariums? Check. Black and gold marble? Check. An outdoor kitchen bigger than many flats? Check! Take a tour of our state’s most sumptuous kitchens.

Kitchens have long been considered the heart of the home and are, in many cases, the make or break factor in any buying decision.

So what’s hot right now, and where is kitchen design heading?

While functionality is key to any kitchen, style is high on the stakes too, with driving influences from natural materials, heavy-duty finishes and European escapism.

Blending traditional older homes with contemporary thinking is also on the current agenda.

Studio Nine’s interior design director Mandy Goehr has worked on projects where modern kitchens act as a sleek contrast to heritage features.

“Marble benchtops and a jaw-dropping splashback coupled with black and oak joinery create a bold yet restrained statement,” she says.

Sustainability and kitchens on a tiny footprint are showing their worth too, says Das-Studio’s Sara Horstmann, who recently worked on such a project.

“This compact kitchen was designed to accommodate all the requirements of a standard kitchen within a very tiny footprint,” she says.

“Integrated appliances are concealed behind walnut-clad frontals, while ceramic benchtops were a key material selection due to their almost indestructible characteristics.”

Hickinbotham Group design director Ruth Vagnarelli says it’s important to stay practical, and that means good storage where you need it most.

“Oversized butler’s pantries, ample benchspace and mud rooms off kitchens are essential to stay clutter-free in the kitchen, while good access to unloading groceries from the garage is another key tip,” she says.

Anyway, that’s probably enough of all that.

Time to do what you clicked on this story for in the first place – lose yourself in some kitchen porn.

Ladies and gentlemen, we give you what we think are SA’s top 25 kitchens.

Enjoy!

25

There’s nothing fishy about this place. Oh, except for the aquarium.

It’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s also not every day you see a kitchen benchtop made out of agates. Paired with the fish tank it’s probably a little flashy for most people’s tastes, but this Rostrevor place is proof that if you can dream it, you can do it.

24

Hard edges and no nonsense – prepare to see a lot of this style of kitchen in our list. Because it’s stunning.

Built by Dechellis Homes, this Craigburn Farm residence features a T-shaped space where a marble-clad island sits centre stage as the show kitchen. The food prep areas are clad in matt black, including the open pantry and butler’s zone, while huge panes of glass make you feel as if the outdoors is already inside. It’s a combo that is hard to beat if you want a kitchen that is as highly practical as it is stunning.

23

Can you think of a better place to sit and have a cuppa?

You may need to look carefully, but it’s the pops of colour in this kitchen that set it apart. Overall, it’s a chic kitchen in a mix of timber joinery, black and white cabinetry and a concrete-look bench, but it’s the bold green freestanding oven and pops of yellow and red that make the space sing. The kitchen, by Top Line Furniture, won the 2021 HIA award for best renovated kitchen up to $35,000.

22

They say size doesn’t matter, but this massive kitchen, with its stunning wine room, tends to suggest otherwise.

The detailed routed trims on cupboards and the smooth curves on the island speak volumes of how elegant and refined this kitchen truly is. It looks glamorous and it comes with innovative features, but best of all, it comes with a view. This project won Walls Bros Designer Kitchens the 2021 HIA award for best new kitchen $35,001–$55,000 category.

21

If that benchtop isn’t just screaming out to have a pizza eaten off of it with a glass of white wine, we don’t know what is. Picture: Zoe Coates

As an addition to a Hyde Park sandstone villa, interior design director Mandy Goehr, of Studio Nine Architects, created this sleek open-plan kitchen as a contrast to the heritage of the home. The marble benchtop and jaw-dropping splashback coupled with black and oak joinery create a bold yet restrained statement. The kitchen features a butler’s pantry, top-of-the-range appliances and generous benchspace, making it a focal point for gathering and entertaining. The kitchen was built by Pringle Builders.

20

There’s a brightness on the edge of town in this stunning light-toned kitchen. You can never go wrong with American oak.

Georgie Shepherd Interior Design composed a sublime and soothing palette of whitewashed American oak and white in this L-shape kitchen that seamlessly transitions with the home’s open-plan dining and living. Open shelving, integrated bench seating, handmade tiles and marble are among the beautiful finishes in the Stanley House project.

19

Pushed for room? This Blewitt Springs abode proves you can still make a big impact in a small space. Picture: Anthony Basheer

If space is limited, take inspiration from this edgy compact kitchen, designed by Das-Studio. Created for Esca luxury accommodation at Blewitt Springs, it features a clever layout with all the requirements of a standard kitchen but within a tiny footprint. And it packs a punch with fully integrated appliances concealed behind walnut-clad frontals, while ceramic benchtops were chosen for their almost indestructible characteristics. Golden tones in the glazed splashback tiles, the woven grasscloth ceiling, honey oak floors and creamy ceramic light fittings make it all the more divine.

18

With a light fitting we kind of want to swing from, this Seaford Heights kitchen will make you want to crack a bottle of wine and get some friends over to chat into the wee hours.

When it comes down to everyday life, what you really want in your kitchen is stunning good looks combined with functionality. Statesman Homes’ Seacombe Alfresco’s display kitchen, at Vista, Seaford Heights, has both in spades. Storage is everywhere – under and above the three benchtops, and also in the oversized butler’s pantry/mud room. Warm walnut-toned joinery, travertine-style flooring and crisp white benchtops are mixed with brass feature lighting and tan leather furniture to make it sexy too. This kitchen was built by KT3.

17

Cook up a storm in this beautiful kitchen.

Who would have thought you could get a kitchen that looks this good for under $35,00? Well, you can, and this venetian plaster concrete-look/black/timber slat number is the proof in the pudding. The balance of colours is on point and makes us want to cook, even on a 35-degree day. This HIA award-winning kitchen is by Custom Built New Homes & Renovations.

16

I hope you’ve got a spare room or two, because once your guests have spent an evening in your outdoor kitchen, they won’t want to leave.

When it comes to inviting outdoor spaces built for summer fun, this place, in many people’s eyes, will be as good as it gets. Overlooking the pool, it’s good to go for your next Christmas party. And if you get bored out here you can always head inside to the stunning indoor kitchen complete with a massive wine room.

Ooh, look! A vertical pic. Trust us, when you have a ceiling like that you want to make sure you get it all in the frame.

15

Studio Gram’s Millswood House project took a century-old cottage and turned it into a modern retreat.

A large void draws natural light into the heart of this home.

This is where you’ll find its beautifully finished kitchen with Gaggenau appliances and a long island in Carrera marble and Tasmanian oak.

Are you jealous yet?

14

With an outdoor kitchen this stunning you won’t want to cook inside at all …

This is a kitchen where all its different elements come together perfectly, like when the Power Rangers combine their forces to create the Megazord, or when the Planeteers work together to summon Captain Planet. It just works for the good of all mankind.

13

You can marvel at the cabinetry, the benchtop, the ceramic sink or even the light fittings, but it’s the subway tiles that take the cake for us on this one.

Hang on, how did this Hamptons stunner sneak into the mix? Oh, hang on, that’s because it’s in Oakbank! This Grasby Rd beauty is a cracking contemporary Hamptons number dressed in Shaker-style cabinetry, and they might well be the most elegant subway tiles we’ve ever seen.

12

Bring the outside in this stunning Felixstow property. We can’t decide which one we like more.

Blur the boundary between indoor and outdoor living with this stunning combo at Felixstow that’s bound to please any gourmet entertainer. It’s got clean lines and screams quality – the only question you need to ask yourself is “inside, or outside tonight?”

11

Not all outdoor kitchens are created equal, as this fabulous Balhannah number proves.

Not all great kitchens are inside, as this tremendous Balhannah property shows. Set under a sleek and swoon-worthy alfresco entertainment area and overlooking a sparkling pool, this is outdoor living done so, so right.

10

What’s black and white and great all over? This place …

Williams Burton Leopardi’s refresh of a Walkerville home saw a contemporary kitchen at the heart of its transformation. Sophisticated and functional, the kitchen has a classic elegance which is celebrated in the detailed joinery and finishes, including marble, concrete and timber, that also connect it to original parts of the home. The kitchen was designed by WBL, built by Proform_Joiner and builder Ikon Projects.

9

Answer truthfully, is there anywhere you’d rather be right now than at that breakfast bar with a glass of red? Didn’t think so.

Concrete construction can sometimes lend itself to being cold and uninviting, but this Glen Osmond home achieves the exact opposite. We think you’d be hard pressed to find a more visually arresting splashback.

8

Here’s a break from all of those hard right angles we’ve shown so far. This Mediterranean-style kitchen is sure to give you all kinds of vibes.

If the Euro feel of this kitchen doesn’t make you want to rush out and buy a one-way ticket for Italy or Greece or whip up a tomato carpaccio, then nothing will. The soft curves of the marble island and arched Venetian render walls, combined with concrete flooring and white cabinetry invoke the Euro summer with passion. The style and finishes also won it the 2021 HIA South Australian Kitchen of the Year, for Walls Bros Designer Kitchens and Klemm Homes.

7

All white, all white, all white …

Not every kitchen can pull off the mirrored splashback, but when they do, gosh they look spectacular. Just like every other aspect of this breathtaking St Georges kitchen.

6

It’s a feast for the senses, but we’d like to point out just how nice those cupboard handles are. It’s the small details that take this place to the next level.

The perfect blend of contemporary and character, light and dark, hard and soft. Yep, we love this Heathfield beauty for a number of reasons. Plus it’s got an island bench long enough for the whole footy team.

5

Kitchens like this don’t come cheap. Neither did the rest of the place. It sold last year for $10.5 million.

We’ve featured this Robe Tce, Medindie home in several “Best Of” features because it’s just that impressive. We can’t decide whether we’re more blown away by the sleek cabinetry, the stylish splashback or that massive cantilever benchtop.

4

Fruit, plants, cookbooks. What can we say? We love a place that looks like you can walk into it and immediately feel at home.

Looking like it’s jumped straight off a Pinterest board or your Instagram feed is this picture-perfect Trinity Gardens home. Far from sterile, this one looks lived in and loved.

3

We’ve all cooked stuff outside from time to time to keep the cooking smells out of the house. This place allows you to do that in style.

Who ordered the teppanyaki grill? Well, the 2021 HIA-CSR South Australian House of the Year, designed and built by Alan Sheppard Constructions, did. The expansive outdoor kitchen and alfresco, overlooking the stunning pool, is one of this home’s highlights, but so too is the elegant kitchen inside this $3.5m Hazelwood Park beauty.

2

What do you give someone who has everything? An aquarium in the kitchen. That’s what you get them.

The focal point of a home that won the HIA Australian House of The Year and was also the major price in the St John Lottery a few years ago, this kitchen was always going to be special. But with that stunning feature aquarium built into the design, you may never want to cook seafood again.

1

This kitchen is so next level it’s just not funny. From the bar accents to the tapware and light fittings, everything about this has been exquisitely considered.

Kitchens do not get more extravagant than this stunner in swirling ripples of gold and black (it is Cosentino’s Sensa Orinoco). Of course, black kitchens are currently having their moment of glory, but this glittering showcase by Tanik Design polishes the look with a stunning use of materials and a split island with hi-tech gadgets that pop up to lift plates and hide appliances. It’s sleek yet complex perfection won it the 2021 HIA South Australian Kitchen Design of the Year. Magnifique!