5 expert tips on how to create the perfect look for your kitchen

7. Kitchen HH Roadknight 33202, Hamlan

Building a home comes with so many advantages and for the foodies out there creating your ultimate kitchen from scratch is one of them.

At Hamlan we’re experts at building dream homes and dream kitchens. All our homes are cleverly designed, ensuring highly functional, beautiful kitchens to meet a range of different needs and wants.

In addition, Hamlan only uses locally sourced high-quality materials and products from long-standing suppliers—meaning our supply chain ensures the best products will reach your home.

At Hamlan, most of the magic happens in our Style Studio. Here’s our best tips on how you can perfect the look of your kitchen in your dream home.

But first, choose your Hamlan design

We have 23 different Hamlan designs in our Aspect Range available plus offer our custom home design service—so in terms of options and inspiration—there’s much to be had!

All our homes are designed by architects, so functionality, flow and aesthetics are at the forefront of all our kitchens. In terms of layout, U-shaped kitchens continue to be a favourite. Island benches are also popular—they’re an excellent choice when needing extra bench space for food preparation, entertaining and to serve. They also offer extra storage—which is ALWAYS a bonus. During this process you’ll also plan your walk-in pantry or a butler’s pantry and determine what appliances or plumbing is needed in these areas.

Once you’ve selected the design of your Hamlan home, your next step in the design process is to visit our Style Studio for your one-on-one appointment with our colour consultant. In the Style Studio, you’ll decide on all your colours, fixtures and fittings.

HH Portraits21 168682, Hamlan

Why flooring is so important

In our Style Studio, our colour consultants start from the bottom up—quite literally! Flooring is the first element that is selected. From there your colour consultant can work their way up to ensure that all design elements are met.

How does this work? Take a look at the first Kalimna 240 home we built in Torquay. We wanted to create the ultimate beachside holiday home. Opting for the Armstrong Flooring Natural Creations XL Vinyl flooring in Riverland Natural. Flooring is a material that is used every day, so it is important to consider how it will wear long term. Our standard Armstrong Flooring is a hard-wearing option that will stand up to the constant mopping and foot traffic that your kitchen will experience over time whilst offering a calm and coastal look. From here, it’s an easy step to the next selections—bench top, cabinetry and splashbacks.

SplittersAve 14, Hamlan
Kalimna 240

Creating character in your kitchen with colour

Making your selections for your benchtop, cabinetry and splashbacks is by far the most fun part of your selections. Everyone has a style that they tend to gravitate towards, whether it’s a classic Hamptons look or Scandinavian with clean lines.

Here you can be playful and have lots of fun by adding colour and contrast to your kitchen. Consider adding a bolder colour splashback in order to play on the depth and scale of the kitchen. You may even consider adding a pop of colour to your ABS edging, Kickboard or L channels!

Looking at the Kalimna 240 home, you can see that we’ve chosen a minimalist coastal look but to add some contrast we’ve added the Classic Oak floating shelving and coupled this same Classic Oak on the ABS edging of the cabinetry.

Kalimna Wip 800X1000, Hamlan
Kalimna 240

By adding this contrast, we’ve been able to create a clean, minimalist look in this kitchen while adding some subtle interest to its overall shape and form. This subtle theme is also reflected in the choice of splashbacks in both the kitchen and Pantry. The main kitchen splashback and benchtop features the subtle marbling of Essastone’s Carrara benchtop in gloss. The use of a thin white subway tile running in a vertical stackbond pattern, continues the minimalistic theme but creates a distinction between the two spaces. These are subtle yet intentional selections to add rhythmic pattern while keeping to the minimalist, coastal style.

Allowing your kitchen to take form

By now you already know what your kitchen layout will look like but here’s your opportunity to look at the small finer details as to how your kitchen functions as a space.

These aspects are often things you haven’t even considered when thinking of your dream kitchen but really do make all the difference. Things to consider include, your rangehood—whether you want it concealed or to sit as a canopy. You also need to consider your appliance sizes, in particular your fridge size, and how that will be positioned in your kitchen. One design element you might want to consider is the growing trend of an integrated fridge, oven, dishwasher, bins and microwave. Integrating appliances is essential if you want to create a clean, functional and seamless look.

HH Ruthven 13, Hamlan
Custom home

Consider function when finalising your fixtures

Your dream kitchen is really taking form now—but to finish there’s more fixtures to consider.

Firstly taps. Your tapware really helps to solidify any look you’re hoping to achieve in your kitchen. Hamlan’s tap supplier is Caroma—who offer a range of tapware in styles ranging from industrial through to traditional, stainless steel to matte black or white. But what is just as important is functionality—how do you plan on using this tap? Will you be doing the dishes or using it for washing the vegetables? Is it purely for washing hands? If you’re planning on using the sink space for multiple uses, a pull-out mixer is a great option. If it’s just to wash your hands, a simple sink mixer should usually do!

When there’s a tap, there’s always a sink so don’t forget to think about whether you want this with or without a drainer tray and whether you want this sitting overmount or undermount! Drainer trays although great for washing dishes do take up bench space so if you are wanting to maximise bench space, maybe consider a double bowl without it. Caroma offers drainer trays which can be purchased separately and stored under your bench when you don’t need it!

HH Sabine344 36232, Hamlan
Sabine 344

Another fixture you will consider in the Style Studio is cabinetry hardware. Firstly, do you even need hardware? For a seamless look, handleless cupboards and drawers are ideal. However, if you want a kitchen that’s full of character, handles are a great way to add interest and solidify the look you’re hoping to achieve.

Off Grid 800X1000, Hamlan
Custom home

Last but not least is lighting which in some ways the most important element of your kitchen. A kitchen being the centre of your home not only needs to look nice, it needs to be functional. Downlights are a great source of task lighting but if you are wanting something a little more stylish then perhaps add in some LED strip lighting to your overheads or have a look at Beacon Lighting for some pendant lights above your island bench. A pendant light may serve as a show stopper and be the final piece that ties your kitchen together.

HH Erskine 17 2, Hamlan
Erskine 225

In summary

You can have the kitchen of your dreams if you build with Hamlan. Hamlan has more than 38 years’ experience in building homes across the Geelong region, Surf Coast and the Great Ocean Road—and that equates to countless dream kitchens!

Before you start we have this advice on how you can perfect the look of your dream kitchen

1 Choose the right Hamlan home design for you. We have 23 different Hamlan designs available plus offer our custom home design service—so in terms of options and inspiration—there’s much to be had! All our designs are by Architects, so functionality, flow and aesthetics are at the forefront of all our kitchens.

2 Get your flooring right from the start. Once you’ve selected the design of your Hamlan home, your next step in the design process is your colour selections appointment in our Style Studio. Our Colour Consultants start from the bottom up—quite literally! Flooring is the first element of your design that is selected. From there your Colour Consultant can work their way up to ensure that there’s some contrasts between the flooring and the colours of the kitchen.

3 Characterise your kitchen with colour. Be playful and have fun by adding colour and contrast to your kitchen. Consider adding a pop of colour to your L channels, Kickers or perhaps add a stunning tile to your splashback to create some scale and depth in your kitchen.

4 Consider how you can create shape and form. Look at other elements that create the complete shape and form of your kitchen. Things to consider include, your rangehood—whether you want it concealed or to sit as a canopy. Consider your appliance sizes, in particular your fridge size, and how that will be positioned in your kitchen. You should also consider integrating your appliances.

5 Give your fixtures some thought. Consider functionality as well as look for your fixtures such as tapware, hardware and lighting. You want them to function well but also complete your kitchen look!

It’s never too early to start planning. Get started by making your own kitchen moodboard.

Contact us today

and learn more about building with Hamlan.

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