Scandinavian/industrial-style open-plan kitchen in Sydney

Refresh Renovations Specialist Michael Harich had been planning on personalising his kitchen since he first bought his Sydney home in 2019. His main goal was to open up the space so that the kitchen, dining and living areas would be connected. His training as a Renovation Specialist had thoroughly prepared him to manage his kitchen makeover to a high standard. 
“I wanted to change the whole layout of the kitchen, as it wasn’t very practical”, explains Michael. “The goal was to make better use of the existing space so that it would be better for entertaining. I also wanted to add value.”

Kitchen design

By planning out his renovation carefully, Michael was able to gain a clear understanding of what his kitchen renovation’s costs and timeline would be. He worked with a trusted local designer to develop his ideas into a feasible concept. After moving through a few design variations, Michael landed on his ideal look: an open-plan Scandinavian style kitchen. From there, measurements were taken, the kitchen was ordered and construction began.  

Project management

Entrusting the kitchen installation to his kitchen supplier, Michael managed the surrounding works. This included the removal of a wall to open up the space as well as the removal of the floor tiles to resurface the original floorboards. During the demolition of the existing kitchen, a brick wall was uncovered. While not originally part of the plan, Michael and his wife Monika decided to make a feature out of the wall by whitewashing it.

“It ended up being a cool and unique feature to the kitchen”, says Michael.  
Next up, Michael’s team removed the existing kitchen tiles. As underfloor insulation had only recently been installed, Michael decided to keep the original timber flooring that sat underneath the tiles. To personalise it, Michael’s team sanded the floor and whitewashed it to match the new kitchen style.
While the room was stripped back, Michael arranged for a plumber and electrician to prepare the space for the new kitchen. His team also replaced an old damaged window with an aluminium framed window which added to the quality appearance of the new kitchen. 

Modern Scandinavian kitchen

From there, the new kitchen was installed and the new space was painted white - as is typical in Scandinavian-style kitchens. Once this process was complete, the final step was for the engineered stone benchtop to be cut, delivered and installed.
“We are very happy”, says Michael. “The feedback we are getting from friends is that the house has drastically improved with the new layout and with the whitewashing of the floor and the feature wall. It’s a better flow. The opening to the dining area has more floor space and we can accommodate more people. It’s what we expected. The whole layout changed and the flow in the kitchen is better, despite us reducing the footprint of the kitchen. We have more storage space and even the working areas of the kitchen are better. We stayed on budget. Timing-wise, overall, it was on time. We’re quite happy with the result!”

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