At KWD we work on such a wide variety of projects, in terms of location, budget, design style and scope. Invariably though, some of the key rooms we work on in any project are the kitchen and the laundry. That’s why it’s so important that we keep up to date with the latest design trends, colour palettes, joinery innovations, hard finishes and appliances.
Quite often when we design a kitchen or laundry, we do so based on the appliances we know will suit the lifestyle of the household. This is key to the success of the space planning. And when it comes to joinery design, it’s so important to ensure the joinery works for the way you want to use the space (a hidden bar in the kitchen for example!). The joinery must be designed to work with the aesthetic of the home, and to stand up to the rigours of daily use. This is one of the ways in which our KWD team excels – joinery design that not only looks incredible, it works beautifully for the home owners.
Importantly, if you don’t take into account the size and format of your vital appliances (washing machine, clothes dryer, fridge, oven, wine fridge, rangehood and cooktop), you may well find yourself in a space that doesn’t work as effectively as you need it to. After all, the kitchen is the heart of the home and the laundry is the workhorse.
When helping our clients to select appliances for their home, Winning Appliances are our go to retailer. Their recently opened showroom in Richmond is incredible – in fact the showroom was a finalist in the world retail awards. When we take our clients there to look for appliances, they are always so well looked after by the Winning Appliances team. And we always know we will find that most innovative appliances to suit any budget or aesthetic, and for those who adore cooking and entertaining and for those who prefer to dine out (or did in the good old days) or get takeaway of course!
When the time came for me to select appliances for my latest project – my new family home called Biscayne – I worked closely with Winning Appliances to select the appliances that would suit the needs of my busy lifestyle whilst working in with the design style I wanted to create. That’s when I discovered Fhiaba. It’s a range that’s recently been introduced to Australia – available exclusively through Winning Appliances.
Handcrafted in Italy, Fhiaba’s elegant range of products takes the function and aesthetics of kitchens to a new level. Their refrigerators are all about food and wine preservation, perfect for those who really care about preserving all the goodness in fresh meat and vegetables. Fhiaba is the only company in the world today with technology capable of managing three independent climate zones with a simple to use, smart-touch TFT control that manages and monitors the entire fridge operation process – the fresh food compartment and drawer temperatures are shown on the digital display.
And the days of defrosting your freezer are gone! The totally automatic system means you no longer need to defrost the fridge, fresh food and freezer compartments. And for families where children are constantly open the fridge door, the system enables the temperature to be restored quickly after opening thanks to ‘speed freezing’. And while the interior is all about clever space detailing and first-class refrigeration, the exterior is all about sophisticated style with stunning stainless steel finishes or integrated designs that lend themselves to customisation.
I have always wanted a wine fridge, and when I saw the Fhiaba Wine Fridge, it was love at first sight. A great wine has to be stored in a special environment, to protect it from the four enemies of wine – temperature, humidity, light and vibrations. And this wine fridge covers all that – a sleek stainless steel design with a glass door, ergonomic style and multi temperature zones for 58 wine bottles! That’s what I love about Fhiaba – functionality plus design excellence, which is exactly what we always aim for at KWD.
When selecting the cooktop and oven for my Biscayne kitchen, I fell in love with the ILVE range. I really wanted a true kitchen centrepiece and when I saw the Majestic Freestanding Oven that could be fully customised, I knew it was the one. I was able to select the perfect tonings to suit my colour palette – there were seven colours to choose from with brass, chrome, bronze or copper fittings and it was a lot of fun to create an oven that would work perfectly in the kitchen design I had in mind.
Made in Italy, this range comes with all the bells and whistles – touch control display with touch and sliding movement controls that are smooth and easy to use, and a Steam Valve for dry or humid cooking (crispy bread or a tender, juicy roast from the same oven). I’m not a passionate home cook, but it’s exciting to have a system that is designed especially for professional chefs. Each ILVE oven is hand-assembled with care by a single master craftsman from the very finest materials. It’s a work of art for the kitchen!
Renowned among tradespeople, designers and architects, Abey’s sink and tapware products represent contemporary design excellence – a stylish marriage of form and function. Easy to install in any kitchen, bathroom or laundry, they add a stylish detail to your home. I chose the modern, sleek double bowl stainless steel Abey Montego sink to maintain the level of sophistication in my kitchen design. For the rangehood, I chose the Qasair Lismore for its sleek, streamlined aesthetic that will fit effortlessly into the kitchen design. Perfectly attuned to the Australian environment, it’s robust yet versatile and delivers the power to sustain a fresh, clean atmosphere in the kitchen whilst being super quiet and efficient in operation.
I have an exquisite laundry planned for Biscayne. I love playing with the layout, joinery, art and colour in a laundry space which is often overlooked in terms of design excellence. And the appliances need to match in terms of performance and visual appeal. Miele’s clean, simple lines and matching control panels allow for a streamlined integration into any laundry environment, in horizontal or vertical combinations. I always recommend 5 star-rated front-loading washing machines to my clients – the best choice for the environment and for time, energy and water saving all year round. So, for Biscayne I selected a Miele front loader and Heat Pump Tumble Dryer. The M Touch has controls that tap or swipe and you can add liquid detergent system at the push of a button.
The installation of all these incredible appliances is still a way off, but this demonstrates how important it is to think about the appliances you want to install before you do any space planning. It can make all the difference between a kitchen and laundry that is clunky and awkward, and one is carefully considered, that functions seamlessly, that looks visually beautiful and that stands the test of time.
54 Swan Street, Richmond
BISCAYNE appliance selection:
Fhiaba 412L Bottom Mount Fridge/Freezer Right Hinge KS7490TST6I
Fhiaba X-Pro 600mm Wine Cabinet with Trimode Drawer Left Hinge XS5990TWT3
ILVE Fully Integrated Dishwasher IVFID10
Qasair 120cm Lismore Executive Under Cupboard Rangehood LIS1200L3T
Abey Montego Double Bowl Sink MOA360D
Miele 9kg W1 White Edition Front Load Washing Machine WWV980WPS
Miele 9kg Heat Pump Dryer TWV680WP