When it comes to creating the perfect kitchen, it pays to take a leaf out of an expert’s book.
Leading interior designer, Neale Whitaker, shared the breadth of his knowledge during season one of Foxtel’s Love It Or List It Australia, and naturally, the results were stunning.
The premise of the show is centred around homeowners who are struggling with a decision to renovate and love the home they are in, or sell up and find a new dream home somewhere else.
Of all the houses featured on Love It or List It Australia, the kitchen was often one of the rooms that benefited from a modern makeover, under Neale’s astute guidance.
Here, FEMAIL shares some of the most dramatic redesigns by the British expert of formerly dull spaces, guaranteed to inspire any future kitchen renovation plans.
DONVALE
While this Donvale kitchen boasts a comfortable family feel, it was somewhat dated in terms of contemporary design thinking which leans much more towards minimalism.
Though the original space itself was light and airy, its layout didn’t really leave a lot of room to move.
The team installed a large island bench, sleek new cabinets and used white hexagonal tiles on the splashback to make a subtle but stylish statement.
Donvale: This kitchen makeover turns a slightly cramped family room into one that’s spacious, modern, and minimalist
PARK ORCHARDS
This Park Orchards kitchen, built to service a family of eleven, was in dire need of a modern makeover.
Neale reworked the floorplan to make space for a large dining area and minimalist kitchen, offset by delicate pendant lighting.
By dispensing with an excess of heavy wooden detailing, the room now sports a much lighter, and more spacious feel, perfectly complemented with accents of gold, black, and splashes of pastel-hued tones.
CANTERBURY
Though some clutter can evoke feelings of homeliness, it’s also possible too much can make a space feel small and cramped.
This Canterbury kitchen was given a masterful makeover and the result?
A much larger room to not only enjoy cooking and eating meals, but also a view out on to a well-manicured garden.
Before: This Canterbury kitchen was drowning in a sea of clutter making it look small and pokey
After: The same Canterbury kitchen embraces a minimalist aesthetic and opens out to a view of a well-manicured garden
MORNINGSIDE
Rather than try to work with this kitchen and dining room as it existed, the team decided to tap into the house’s unused space by taking out a wall that separated the hallway and kitchen.
By completely remodelling the space, complete with new dining area, a once-formerly pokey room became one both light-filled and modern.
The additions of a brass range hood, feature lighting, a marble bench and contrasting grey cabinets, this stunning makeover transformed a previously unremarkable room.
Morningside: The team removed a wall to open up a formerly cramped kitchen and dining space
ROZELLE
While this kitchen had the makings of modern space, there were elements, such as the grey topped bench and counter that made it look less than appealing.
By dispensing with these, and a whole host of cumbersome cupboards, the room took on a much more invigorating, and energising, feel.
The team introduced warmth via sage-coloured shelves which worked as a perfect accent to earthy-toned flooring.
Before: This Rozelle kitchen, though a modern room, needed an update to make it feel contemporary
After: The same kitchen with cumbersome cupboards removed and fresh accenting introduced
JINDALEE
Jindalee: This kitchen / dining room looked out-dated and dowdy with an over-abundance of wooden features. A pared back makeover breathed some much-needed life into the space
COBURG NORTH
A recurring theme with most of the kitchens is they tend to suffer from a glut of excess stuff crowding up shelving and bench spaces.
Again, while some small touches are needed to add personality, too much makes for a cluttered environment and one that’s often not relaxing to spend time in.
The team really went to town on this Coburg North kitchen. Any hint of dowdiness has been completely removed.
A fresh green splashback creates a modern statement, as does a single pendant light. A cramped dining area is replaced by a granite-topped island, and the whole room is pulled together by blonde-wood flooring.
PERFECTION
Before: A cramped Coburg North kitchen overburdened with far too much clutter and in desperate need of renovation
After: The same kitchen with a green-tiled splashback and modern dining island. The modernist reworking virtually renders this room unrecognisable