It was the mid-century charm of this quaint home in the township of Angaston, South Australia, that drew this young family in before purchasing it in September of last year.

Originally built in 1960 by a local building family, the double-brick pad came with many of its original features — including the kitchen. Though it was cute and in fantastic condition considering its age, it didn’t quite suit the needs of a growing family who loved to cook together and entertain.

So, they enlisted the team at Spacecraft Joinery to help transform the space into something bigger and up to date with contemporary standards, while still paying homage to its retro roots.

If you’re familiar with Spacecraft’s work, you’ll know that designing unique kitchens injected with personality is their forte. Naturally, designer Sarah Katsaros and her team took this client’s brief and ran with it.

‘The client wanted to achieve a space that interpreted the mid-century modern aesthetic in full colour,’ she says. ‘The overarching goal was to craft a versatile and visually engaging kitchen space, serving as the focal point for family life, culinary pursuits, social interactions and remote work, all within the constraints of a specified budget.’

Initial structural changes included knocking down the wall of the original adjoining study and bricking up its door to create one large kitchen area from two smaller rooms.

Per the client’s request to incorporate greens, yellows, oranges and reds, mustard yellow cabinetry, burnt ochre laminate benches and earthy green tiles were used to create a sense of harmony and reflect the colours of the surrounding natural environment of the Barossa Valley. On the other hand, a terrazzo breakfast bar benchtop serves as a statement feature to contrast the kitchen’s muted tones.

‘The clients were torn between the cost-effective quality of laminate benchtops and the beauty and interest of a terrazzo benchtop, so we gave them the best of both worlds!’ Sarah explains.

To further replicate the mid-century aesthetic, Spacecraft designed curved joinery and blackwood timber benchtops as a nod to the era — including the curved feature rangehood box, also in mustard yellow, that sandwiches the green tiles with the yellow cabinetry on the back wall.

Despite having a limited budget to work with, it’s clear Spacecraft were still able to work their signature magic to deliver a spacious yet chic family kitchen.