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A long kitchen with a spotted gum island, a stone benchtop, three glass pendants and a dining table by the garden windows

Kitchen · Fitzroy North

Rae Street Kitchen

Kitchen and dining for a family of four, 2025

24 m², nine weeks on site

A dark 1920s lean-to became one long room: the bench under the window, the island in the middle, the table where the afternoon sun lands.

Timber-veneer cabinets, a marble splashback and a black tap under lit open shelves

JoineryThe bench run

Two cast-iron pots on a white marble benchtop with a warm timber edge

BenchtopHoned marble, 20 mm

Room
24 m²
On site
Nine weeks
Handed over
March 2025
Joinery
Made in Preston

Scope

  • Kitchen and dining design
  • Joinery drawings
  • Lighting plan
  • Finishes schedule
  • Sourcing
  • Install and styling

Who made it

  • Design: Nell Okafor
  • Drawings: Sami Reyes
  • Joiner: a Preston workshop
  • Builder: a Northcote team
  • Photography: Unsplash contributors

The owners cooked in a galley at the back of the house and ate standing up. They asked for a kitchen two people could cook in at once, and a table that would not be cleared for homework.

We took out one wall and moved the sink under the north window. A 2.8 metre island runs down the middle, with three stools on the garden side. The bench is honed marble, the island spotted gum, the floor Victorian ash.

The island is 900 mm deep, wide enough for two people to roll pastry side by side.

A designer's hands open a book of dark fabric samples on a timber desk

Finishes schedule · January 2025

Twelve of the 23 lines we handed the joiner

SurfaceMaterialFinish
BenchtopArabescato marble, 20 mmHoned, sealed
IslandSpotted gum veneerMatt oil
SplashbackHandmade zellige, 100 mmOff-white, lime grout
ShelvesSpotted gum, 32 mmMatt oil
FloorVictorian ash, 180 mm boardsNatural oil
WallsLime washWarm white
CeilingPlasterboardFlat, warm white
HandlesSolid brass bar, 160 mmUnlacquered
TapGooseneck mixerMatt black
PendantsHand-blown glass, threeClear, 2700 K
StoolsOak and woven cordNatural
BlindLinen romanOat

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