When GIA Renovations interior designer Carmel Wylie first stepped inside her client’s Ormond family home, she instantly knew the kitchen needed a full revamp.

‘The kitchen was in the wrong location in the house,’ Carmel says.

‘It had been squeezed into a corner and had several DIY additional storage solutions added over time. It had a beautiful light coming in from the north window but that was about it.’

In addition to tackling the kitchen, GIA Renovations were tasked with updating the awkward bathroom and laundry. Both felt dysfunctional, and aesthetically, they were stuck somewhere between the 1970s and 1980s — reflected by the laminate finishes, dark trims, textured glass and decorative floral tiles.

But believe it or not, this dated scheme subtly influenced much of Carmel’s interior design choices for this latest refresh.

‘I wanted to stay true to the house and the time it was built,’ she adds. ‘The client loved warmer tones, and wanted to use browns, and earthy reds.’

It all started with the Rosa Strata Marble from CDK Stone that Carmel selected for the kitchen bench.

Covered in a combination of rich browns, creams, and gold veins, this natural stone set the tone for the rest of the materials; the dark terracotta floor tiles; the honey-coloured laminate; and Polytec Tasmanian oak joinery.

The kitchen layout was essentially ‘flipped’ to the opposite side of the existing space, the original door frames were also opened up with new curved archways that beautifully frame the show-stopping island bench.

‘As we were sitting it between two walls, I was conscious of the sizing of every benchtop,’ Carmel says.

‘We slimmed down the island slightly, but added the border tiles around the base, giving it the illusion of being much wider.’

Meanwhile, the services in the laundry and bathroom were retained and refreshed cosmetically with new finishes like terrazzo floor tiles and a textural basin from Robert Gordon. The same glossy brown tiles from the kitchen feature again in the laundry, creating a honeycomb-like colour combination when paired with the yellow grout and matching joinery.

The project proves how even the most utilitarian spaces in the home can still be fun, without sacrificing function.

‘I love the laundry in this job,’ Carmel notes. ‘The room is so full of joy and life!’