Kitchen Cabinet design at AWISA 2014

AWISA in Brisbane 2014.

The team from Matthews Joinery and kitchen centre , Ballarat arrived in Brisbane ready to see new and innovative ideas for kitchen cabinetry and joinery design and manufacture. Rod and Andrew spent a lot of time looking at all of the machinery for manufacture and ways to improve production techniques. There were some impressive machines on show.

Polytec had one of the most impressive stands where they launched many new materials and colours.

These can now be seen in our Ballarat kitchen showroom where samples are available.

Polytec are a major supplier of Board materials, Laminates and Vinyl doors. They offer many finishes and textures for doors and bench tops.

Polytec have some new and bold colours being launched, we will have samples in our Ballarat showroom in the coming weeks. They also had a new kitchen cabinet benchtop material that looked like concrete, but with less cost and less weight!

New storage ideas for the kitchen, pantry, wardrobes and bathrooms.

A lot of our kitchen cabinet hardware suppliers were represented with stands displaying new and interesting products.

The Hettich stand displayed a great pantry with a large flush fronted sliding door. When pulled back it revealed inner drawers and shelving, a combination that gives excellent storage and a very modern sleek look. We like to give the pantry a lot of thought at the design stage. A well thought out pantry can really make a kitchen’s functionality. We have a great display in our Ballarat showroom.

Handles.

I loved the stream lined look of this long integrated handle.

Handles are a major factor to consider for any joinery. They can make or break a ‘look’. Whilst the no handle look has been popular the re-emergence of the integrated handle was evident at the show. Furnware Dorset are major supplier of our handles, they have an excellent range available from Matthews Joinery and kitchen centre.

Timber Veneer on display.

A lot of LED lighting was on display. We are finding that LED lights can be successfully used in many kitchen cabinet applications. They can be used in other areas of the house too. Bathroom cabinets can have lights integrated under shaving cabinets or on top. We have even used them as feature lights under a wall hung unit. Studies can have task lighting under wall hung bookshelves. Examples of these are on show at our Ballarat kitchen and bathroom showroom.

150mm pull out unit

Here is a 150 mm  pull out unit which I think could be used in many kitchen applications. Quite often we are stuck with a fridge in an awkward corner and we need to make a space to the side so the doors can open properly allowing the veggie baskets to be pulled out. This usually ends up as a wine rack or tall open shelf. This unit will allow much better use of that space! I can see this being used in a laundry to store cleaning products too.

I was very impressed with the  Linak lifting systems on show. (Click the link here to view a video).

There were bench tops that slide remotely to the side or rose up and down to a selected height. There were lift up and drop down appliance cabinets and TV’s that rose magically up from inside a cabinet. I have a few videos that I can show anyone who is interested. These systems can be used in the kitchen, studies and entertainment cabinets very effectively.

We arrived home in Ballarat with very weary feet and lots of new ideas.

Pauline Ribbans – Designer