The authentic look and feel of hand-trowelled concrete and black-stained plywood make a sophisticated pairing in this sleek industrial-style living space.
This refined residential kitchen and dining area brings together familiar hallmarks of industrial-style interior design – the raw texture of in-situ concrete, the honest woodgrain of plywood, black-steel-framed windows and pre-existing brickwork – into a sleek, contemporary living space. But in amongst that carefully curated palette are two materials that deliver significant cost and performance benefits, making this design much more achievable and much easier to care for once its owners have moved in. Those two materials are Essastone Luna Concrete and Laminex Black Birchply.
The look and feel of hand-trowelled concrete
Essastone Luna Concrete was designed to emulate the authentic texture of hand-trowelled concrete. Applied here, on the benchtops and splashback, its shallow dimples, ripples and ridges make a beautiful counterpoint to the smooth surface of the polished concrete floor. They bring a slightly masculine edge to the interior too, which is reinforced by the apparent thickness of the island benchtop. But compared to a chunky solid-concrete benchtop, Luna Concrete is much easier to install, much more cost-effective and doesn’t need to be sealed. Its mottled surface colouring and semi-gloss finish don’t readily show fingerprints and other marks. And importantly for use in kitchens, it’s certified as food safe by the National Sanitation Foundation.
The sophistication of black-stained woodgrain
Black surface materials are a perfect match for Luna Concrete, because they bring out the darker patterning in its concrete tones. In this project, the Laminex Black Birchply used for underbench and tall cabinetry adds its own subtle texture too, with the highly desirable look of black-stained plywood. Again, like Luna Concrete, Black Birchply offers significant advantages over the alternative surface material. In contrast to real plywood, it isn’t susceptible to water damage so is well suited to use in wet areas. It’s also much more resistant to scratches and stains, and is incredibly easy to keep clean. And if it’s ordered through Laminex’s Made to Measure Doors and Panels offering, it can be delivered to site, fully finished and ready to install.
Luna Concrete and Black Birchply combine particularly well here, giving expression to industrial-style interior design but with the warmth and tactility that comes from textures that look natural and highly crafted. With the addition of a matte black Phoenix Vivid Slimline gooseneck mixer, over the Abey Piazza undermount sink at the rear, and dark-toned dining furniture, this design also taps into the now well-established movement towards darker interior spaces. And it’s given a final touch of sophistication with the minimal elegance of a Baxter Blade suspension lamp in brass, over the island bench.
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