Darren Palmer's Kitchen Renovation

15/08/2018

Caesarstone

“I actually changed my colour scheme so the kitchen would suit Cloudburst Concrete™. I love the texture. I love the patina. I love the way it catches the light,”
Darren Palmer, interior designer and judge on The Block.

Renowned interior designer, author and judge on The Block, Darren Palmer is a trusted industry expert, influencer and ambassador for high quality products and brands. His design expertise, combined with his understated approach, have made him a household name.

Darren Palmer’s kitchen renovation started with his new LG fridge – giving him the impetus to redesign the space in just two weeks, in time for a planned birthday party.

“The fridge is stunning,” he says. “Big and gorgeous and stainless steel. It’s lovely. My own kitchen was not up to the standard of the LG fridge. That’s why I had to renovate the kitchen.”

Working with Freedom Kitchens, Darren designed the space, creating a seamless, streamlined aesthetic. “Because the fridge was stainless steel rather than being integrated, I wanted to make the fridge integrate with the cabinetry as best as I could,” he says. “That’s why I went with a titanium laminate, which makes that whole wall look really slick.”

Caesarstone’s Cloudburst Concrete was a great fit with the slick/industrial setting Darren wanted to achieve.

“It’s just a really lovely substantial looking product,” he says. “Because I’ve got an induction cooktop, I’ve also got a splashback in Caesarstone. The only surface that’s in the kitchen that’s not cabinetry is Cloudburst Concrete.”

With a two-week turnaround, his renovation strategy (and timeline) was not that different from The Block.

“The Block is like my life,” he says. “There’s a reason why I’m a judge; it’s not just because I get my work put in magazines. It’s because I love to renovate, and I really love transforming property.

Splashback

“Because I’m in Bondi, I wanted the beach house vibe,” says Darren, which is why he chose the light wood laminate for some of the cabinetry. “It’s got a really lovely wood texture to it that’s very subtle,” he says. “It’s got that white grain infill, which I think works really nicely with the location, but also with the flooring, because it’s got a white grain infill as well. Then the Cloudburst Concrete picks up on the white grain infill. “I basically just wanted a simple white relief for the overhead cabinetry so that everything wasn’t all screaming at you, it has a little bit of negative space as well.”