Quite Earth

With a clean slate to work from, Arki Design Studio and designer Seline Seven approached this new-build kitchen as an opportunity to craft something expressive and deeply connected to its surroundings. Owners Pat and Jackie offered an open brief, wanting a space that felt creative, unique and reflective of the landscape outside.

GALLERY  

The result is a kitchen that blends bold materiality with quiet warmth, creating a sense of earthy drama that never overwhelms.

The palette is anchored by a striking natural stone that wraps the island, benchtops and splashback. Its swirling greens and rich mineral veins introduce an organic movement that immediately draws the eye. The stone becomes the hero element, establishing both colour direction and emotional tone. Its presence brings the colours of the natural environment indoors, offering a direct echo of the landscape while setting the foundation for the rest of the material pairings.

Brass metal features are used with intention, adding depth and subtle sheen. The sculptural brass front to the island transitions from the stone without interruption, creating a layered interplay between matt and reflective surfaces. This detail reinforces the focus on proportion and scale, ensuring the large island feels grounded yet visually refined. The cabinetry continues this tonal story with a timber laminate that introduces softness and warmth. Its gentle grain works as a quiet counterpoint to the stone and metal, providing balance through natural texture.

A floating timber shelf stretches across the splashback, offering a simple horizontal line that breaks up the vertical expanse of stone. Its placement brings a sense of comfort and everyday usability to a design that otherwise leans toward the dramatic. Integrated appliances – including the technologically advanced, self-cleaning Unox Casa SuperOven Model 1 Black Edition – support both aesthetic cohesion and culinary performance. Operated via an intuitive digital control panel and equipped with more than 400 automatic cooking programs, the versatile SuperOven – the first true professional oven for the home – sets a new benchmark in speed, reliability and quality, making restaurant-level results effortless for home chefs. Its inclusion reinforces the kitchen’s balance of beauty and function, ensuring daily use feels as considered as the design itself.

Lighting plays a supporting role, allowing the materials to take centre stage. Soft illumination draws out the depth within the stone while keeping the atmosphere calm rather than theatrical. Every choice has been made with harmony in mind, from the mix of textures to the measured forms. This kitchen achieves a rare balance. It is bold without being loud, richly detailed without feeling busy, and expressive without losing its sense of softness. By grounding the design in the colours and textures of the surrounding environment – and pairing it with performance-driven technology – Arki Design Studio has created a space that feels both distinctive and deeply connected to place.

Australian studio JAR Office has designed Central, a pared-back Cantonese restaurant and late-night venue in Brisbane’s CBD that ...

If culinary perfection is your passion and entertaining is your forte, then a chef’s oven — or perhaps ...

Australian studio AP Design House has completed Homer Rogue Taverna, a 100-seat Greek restaurant in Cronulla that balances ...

In São Paulo’s Pinheiros neighbourhood, Gio Kitchen Atelier transforms a narrow two-storey house into a hybrid culinary environment ...

An eight-apartment building in Auckland’s Herne Bay demonstrates how integrated kitchen design can anchor contemporary apartment living, with ...