New Ingredients

January 20, 2013
Home & Garden, Lifestyle, Publications

Text: Candice Botha. Photographs: Sally Chance and Supplied. Article from the January 2013 issue of Garden and Home Magazine.

A few simple changes transformed this Durban kitchen from dated to dazzling

When Sharon (pictured) and Brian Ballack and their children, Talia and Brad (pictured), bought their colonial-style home a few years ago, they loved almost everything about it.

But they always felt that the kitchen didn’t live up to the rest of the house. “It was pokey, and the cupboards and counters were tired and dated,” recalls Sharon. “I enjoy entertaining and I had in mind a beautiful room that was more than just a cooking space.”

As the layout of their house dictates that guests enter through the kitchen, Sharon wanted their first impressions to be of something welcoming and stylish. Enlisting the help of Jenny Gevers of Plush Pad Interior Design Studio, she set about creating a light, fresh room that reflects their love of traditional style.

As the budget was tight, the changes they made were relatively simple. To keep costs down, they kept the cupboards but gave them a paint technique and altered them slightly to accommodate a new gas oven. The money saved enabled them to splurge on new Technistone countertops from Matrix Granite and create a focal point above the stove with a glass mosaic splashback.

“To emphasise the wooden floors, I chose an off-white and duck egg blue colour scheme and I loved the idea of using wallpaper on one of the walls,” recalls Sharon. With the budget in mind, Jenny suggested creating a framed panel with a Maison Gallerie wallpaper from The Collection. “This meant we only needed one roll. A crystal chandelier from Mr Price Home added the finishing touch,” explains Jenny.

“I love everything about my new-look kitchen,” says Sharon. “It’s probably my favourite room and I now don’t mind friends congregating there at all.”