We remain in the Durban area in Episode 6, where we visit another former Caesarstone Kitchen of the Year winner from Kitchen Classics, Kim Hansen, and homeowner Tania Dally. In this week’s show, Danilo discovers his shared Italian heritage with the homeowner, while Lisa gets a tour of the expansive design. With a 4-metre-long Caesarstone island, this impressive, all-white kitchen is an entertainer’s dream! View Episode 6 and enter this week’s KitchenAid giveaway after watching the video below, and keep reading for this finalist kitchen’s plans, interviews and more!     HOMEOWNER & DESIGNER INTERVIEWS, PLANS & IMAGES We chatted to homeowner, Tania Dally, to get the scoop on the planning behind her new Caesarstone kitchen renovation.

 

  What was your motivation for the redesigning of your kitchen? When we bought the house, the kitchen was a separate kitchen with dark timber cupboards and we knew we wanted a light/white open planned kitchen.

  How prescriptive were you with your designer? The kitchen is the heart of the home and I wanted to interact with my family while in the kitchen.   I love cooking and entertaining, so the kitchen really had to work for me. Were there any specific aspects that you asked the designer to incorporate in your design? I wanted a white kitchen that was handleless and wanted the zoning to be carefully thought through to really work for my family's needs.

  How did you feel when you finally saw the kitchen finalised? It was beyond my 'dream kitchen' - come true!  I love the Pure White Caesarstone.  It's durable and practical and a lovely surface to work on and to sit at. How much assistance did the designer give you in conceptualising your new kitchen? Kim helped me a lot, from going through the finishes, to understanding the way we would use the different areas in the kitchen as a family.  Working through exactly what would be stored where and how.  Kim definitely made the dream happen!

  What is your favourite aspect of your new kitchen? The Caesarstone-wrapped island and the whole kitchen!

  Were you surprised to be one of the eight finalists? I was ecstatic to hear the news, but for me my kitchen is the best.

  Kitchen designer, Kim Hansen, chatted to us about her experience of designing the Dally kitchen. What stood out to you when you were given the brief for this kitchen renovation? I immediately focused on maximising the design in response to the vast space of the kitchen area, the plan and the height.

How prescriptive was Tania for her kitchen design? Being quite an extreme renovation of an existing home, the architect and the client had already positioned certain appliances due to the existing services.  Tania wanted a white kitchen that was open plan and interactive with the living area and outside terrace. How did you manage to implement their ideas with your creative flair and insight? I helped Tania select white high gloss material, giving the kitchen a lovely light, airy feeling that really blended into the home with its reflective quality. The floating shelving also gives the kitchen a homely, decorated feel.

  What were the challenges that you faced in designing this kitchen and how did you overcome them? With this size of the kitchen it needed to be divided into various zones to avoid too much walking.  The zoning also ensured that the whole family could be in the kitchen and not be in each other’s way.  Mom can be cooking dinner, one daughter baking, another making the girls a cup of tea and dad brewing up his coffee - all at the same time!

  I wanted to use a reflective material so that the kitchen then flowed beautifully into the rest of the home.  The Pure White Caesarstone countertops gave it a really beautiful, timeless feel.

  Were you intentional in trying to incorporate new trends into your design?  Having attended an international kitchen design fair recently, I was very aware of including modern design elements into the Dally kitchen. Some of the elements I used were open shelving; mixing thin (20mm Caesarstone) and thick countertops (20mm built-up to 80mm with mitred joins); recessed handles (giving the feeling of no handles and lovely clean lines); Caesarstone hob cladding and clad recessed shelf; various lighting applications such as LED lighting under floating shelves, dimmer lights in canopy shelf and hanging lights.  I also made sure to conceal the extractors to create a clean look and feel to the kitchen overall.

  Were you surprised to be one of the eight finalists? I was thrilled to be selected as a finalist, as this truly is a magnificent kitchen in a beautiful family home.

  If you’re renovating or building a new kitchen, make sure you visit www.caesarstone.co.za to pick out your perfect Caesarstone countertops for the kitchen design of your dreams! What were your favourite elements of this kitchen design?  Let us know in the comments below and don’t forget to enter the incredible Kitchen of the Year viewer competition each week!