Designing a Low-Impact, High-Performance Kitchen

Today’s environmentally conscious homeowners and consumers demand practitioners be mindful of the carbon impact of their kitchen designs. Durability and verified performance are the strongest levers designers have influence over.

GALLERY  

The hard part is sourcing high-quality, reputable products that are aligned with the design intent without coordinating a dozen separate suppliers to do it.

This is why a single source of kitchen design solutions is valuable. Founded in 1954, Nover is one of the largest family-owned businesses supplying the Australian kitchen and joinery industry, with a specialist wholesale range of more than 25,000 products across 17 categories and a strong branch network across Australia’s eastern states, supported by distribution and reseller partners nationally. That breadth means the surfaces, panels, hardware and appliances for a lower-impact, high-performance kitchen can be specified from one place, with comprehensive documentation and technical assistance.

Fenix NTM is the clearest example. Its ultra-matt nanotech surface is anti-fingerprint and soft to the touch, and it resists scratches, abrasion, dry heat and common household solvents. Superficial micro-scratches can be repaired with heat, which means everyday marks that would prompt a replacement are often easily removed.

Bloom Technology takes the material a step further. Lignin, the natural polymer that binds wood fibres, replaces half the fossil-based phenol in the core resin. Fenix reports reductions in CO2, energy demand and water use as a result.4 Its bio-based content, a declared minimum of 67%, is independently verified to NCS 16785:2016.

The rest of the range delivers on the low-impact, high-performance promise. Colourpyne brings durability to cabinetry with a tough, scratch-resistant and hygienic melamine surface suited to doors, carcasses and shelving across the kitchen, laundry and wardrobe. DesignerSplash offers a flame-retardant aluminium composite splashback as a longer-lived, lower-maintenance alternative to glass, acrylic or tiles.

Hideaway Bins, New Zealand-made and designed so components can be repaired or the plastic buckets recycled at end of life, hold Global GreenTag GreenRate Level C certification recognised by the Green Building Council of Australia. Their in-cabinet waste and recycling separation promotes better household recycling.

Hardware from Salice, one of the most prestigious brands in cabinet hardware, focuses on longevity as well as usability. Its hinges and soft-close mechanisms are built to stay smooth and consistent over tens of thousands of cycles. Exedra and Exedra Gravity pocket doors and the Evolift flap and folding lifts are engineered for quality to deliver a long service life as well as smooth, controlled opening and closing movements. In addition, the latest Evolift flap and folding door mechanisms replace the older gas-based system with a compact coil spring. This design avoids the pressure loss gas struts develop over time.

The Platinum appliance range completes the fit-out, spanning cooktops, ovens, rangehoods, dishwashers and microwaves. Sourcing quality appliances from the same supplier as the surfaces and materials ties the two halves of a kitchen together: Selecting appropriately sized appliances with suitable energy and water-efficiency ratings can help reduce a kitchen’s operational impact.” Just as durable surfaces and hardware do on the embodied side.

Visit Nover for more information.

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