Glen Iris Kitchen Renovation

Kitchen, Laundry & Powder Room Renovation: Glen Iris

Project – Kitchen, Laundry / Mud Room & Powder Room
Suburb – Glen Iris, Melbourne
Builder – Questbuild
Designer – Chris Wing Shing
Photographer - May Photography

The Brief

A kitchen is where a family does a lot of its living — and this Glen Iris renovation was designed with exactly that in mind. Working with Questbuild and the homeowners, the brief went beyond cabinetry and benchtops to ask a more fundamental question: how can a kitchen be designed to work for every member of the family, in every moment of the day? The answer, it turns out, is in the details.

The Design

The material palette is warm and cohesive throughout. The kitchen cabinetry is finished in Dulux Natural White 30% polyurethane — a tone that sits beautifully between crisp and warm — with 40mm Caesarstone Organic White benchtops providing a generous, tactile surface that anchors the space. The same Organic White continues through the laundry and mud room, while a 33mm Polytec Natural Oak Matt seat introduces a natural timber warmth to the transition space. The powder room takes a more characterful turn with American Oak veneer doors and a 20mm Caesarstone Organic White benchtop — refined and personal in equal measure.

But it's the considered details that make this kitchen truly special.

To the right of the fridge, what appears at first glance to be a study nook reveals itself to be something rather more charming: a purpose-built dog bed, complete with a Forbo pinboard above for the family's notes, reminders, and bits and pieces. As any dog owner knows, the family dog belongs in the kitchen too — and here, they have their very own place in it.

The island bench gives equal thought to the person doing the cooking. On the kitchen side, a stool and footrest have been built in — a cook's corner that keeps the chef part of the conversation rather than facing away from it. On the other side, three stools made to measure at different heights invite the whole family to pull up and take part in whatever's being created. Every seat at this island has a story.

The pantry door is another quietly brilliant detail. Rather than a conventional handle, the entire left-hand edge of the door has been formed as the handle itself — sitting just proud of the surface when closed so it's easy to use, but appearing as seamless trim when the door is open. It's the kind of detail you don't notice until someone points it out, and then you can't stop noticing it.

The window seat, laundry, and mud room complete the renovation with the same philosophy applied throughout — functional, considered, and designed to be genuinely lived in.

The Result

A family kitchen in every sense of the word. From the dog bed to the cook's corner, the custom stools to the hidden pantry handle, this Glen Iris renovation is full of personality and purpose. It's a home that was designed to be used, enjoyed, and lived in — by every member of the family. We wish them many happy years in it.