Kitchen Designs
Kitchen Designs
The ECHO design team creates stunning styles from sophisticated Hamptons to industrial luxe – providing you with extensive options for every element of your kitchen from cabinetry to tapware.
We'll help you put your exciting ideas into a design, offering expert ideas on latest design trends, classic styles and design inspiration to help you plan your perfect kitchen.
With every building project from the smallest modification to massive renovations and new builds, it’s important to know you are really getting the best solution for your needs from a team you can trust. After all, a new kitchen can be a substantial investment, and should be practical, pleasing and functional for many years to come.
Your kitchen is one of the rooms in which you probably spend a large amount of your time. Whether you’re upgrading, repairing or building brand new, it needs to be designed with your specific requirements in mind, by someone familiar with industry trends, product advancements and availability. For example, you might have seen the most divine tapware or tiles on Pinterest but later find out they are only available in Sweden, or the US.
Bring your kitchen design to life with ECHO
The ECHO team has partnerships with some of the best kitchen suppliers in the world, and can source anything you need. We’re across the latest product innovations, pricing and supply to help you from inspiration to realising your vision for your kitchen.
Talk to the ECHO kitchen specialists today.
Benchtops
When you’re renovating, repairing or building a completely new kitchen, one of the biggest decisions you need to make is the type of benchtops you want. Not only will your choice have a big impact on the overall look, it’s also the hardest working surface in your kitchen, so durability needs to be taken into consideration. ECHO has extensive experience of working with all surfaces, here’s a quick rundown of what’s out there.
Caesarstone
This is the most popular choice of benchtop material. Made using quartz mixed with resins, it comes in a wide range of colours, from bright whites to dark greys. You can choose either a solid colour or have flecks of different-coloured stone through it to add a pop of colour, for example if you’re having a green theme in your kitchen decor, you might like to choose a green fleck. A big advantage of stone benchtops is that they are very durable and easy to clean. The non-porous surface resists staining, scratching and doesn’t need any ongoing maintenance.
Laminate benchtops
If your kitchen build is on a tighter budget then laminate will be your best options, but that doesn’t mean you have to compromise on looks. Laminate has the widest range of colours and offers designs that imitate more expensive materials such as timber, stone and even concrete. This means you can get the look you’re after without breaking your budget. Laminate is resistant to staining and easy to keep clean but is more susceptible to scratching and scorching so always use a cutting board rather than cutting straight on the benchtop and be careful with hot pots and pans.
Timber benchtops
Timber can bring a touch of warmth and character to your kitchen when you’re using colder materials like glass and stainless steel elsewhere in the kitchen and offers a classic and country look and feel to your kitchen design. The wide variety of available timber means you can go light with the yellowish colours of ash or contrast light-coloured doors with the darker tones of walnut. Timber is more ongoing work than stone or laminate and needs to be coated with food-safe oil to protect it which needs to be reapplied every year or so. You can also use polyurethane which lasts longer, but recoating involves sanding back the entire benchtop first before applying a new coat.
Solid surface
Solid surface benchtops are formed from an acrylic resin with a filler of alumina. The joins between each piece of benchtop are invisible after they’re installed, so the finish looks like one big slab of stone. You can also have the sink moulded into the benchtop so there’s nowhere for dirt to collect, making it easier to keep clean. Solid surface benchtops are UV resistant so they’re the perfect choice for an outdoor kitchen or areas which get a lot of sun during the day. Another advantage is that solid surface benchtops can be repaired more easily. Major damage such as heat scorching can be fixed by the manufacturer without the need to replace the whole benchtop.
Stainless steel benchtops
More often found in professional kitchens, stainless steel can also be the texture you need to balance your palette if you’re planning an industrial look. Heat-resistant and hardy, stainless steel can be wrapped over worktops and island benches, formed seamlessly into sinks and splashbacks, and used for feature shelves, too.
Polished concrete benchtops
Polished concrete is becoming more common and is often used to add contrast to timber or glossy joinery by using concrete on benchtops, over a wall as a cool backdrop to open shelves or as an island bench and top in one.
Marble benchtops
Marble is a gorgeous, natural stone that is commonly used in luxury, high end kitchens as a benchtop and splashback material. It's a classic and stylish option but it comes with an eye watering bill and substantial upkeep. Marble is extremely porous and will soak up spills like a sponge, damaging the look of your investment. Whether your marble surfaces are honed or polished, they need to be sealed with a good quality purpose-made sealant before you even begin to think about cooking up a feast. This is a job best done by professionals and should be repeated every few years.
Granite benchtops
Granite makes a beautiful and sturdy surface for your kitchen benchtop. However you'll need a significant budget – it's the second most expensive material after marble. On the plus side, there are hundreds of styles and colours to choose and it can withstand pretty much anything. It’s also easy to maintain and clean, just use warm water and soap to help keep its shine.
Porcelain benchtops
Porcelain benchtops are becoming more popular due to their durability, versatility and affordability. Porcelain can withstand high heat, scratches and stains and their low porosity makes them a very hygienic option.
Bamboo benchtops
Bamboo is an eco-friendly and less expensive benchtop material that can suit any style kitchen from country to contemporary. Like timber, bamboo benchtops are often sealed with oil (which will need to be regularly reapplied) or with polyurethane (which is more resistant to staining). Fortunately you can repair any damage done by sanding back the benchtop and refinishing it.
Appliances
Appliances are one of the areas where you can go all out for the modern look and enjoy the latest trends. Some of the latest appliance trends allow for more connection with technology, such as Bluetooth as well as an alternative to some traditional cooking methods which may inspire you towards a healthier and more productive lifestyle such as steam ovens, multi cookers and more.
Appliances are all about functionality from typical ovens to convection ovens, self-cleaning ovens, dual ovens, multiple ovens, coffee machines, kettles and fridges with wifi and built in water dispensers for filtered water.
Check out these appliance galleries from our partners
Cabinetry
One of the most visible aspects of designing or modifying your kitchen is the selection of cabinet fronts. Cabinetry - the word used to describe cupboard/ door/ drawers - comes in a variety of designs, textures and materials. The interior style of your kitchen should always guide your choice of cabinets.
There are plenty of options to choose from, from flat modern styles, to Shaker, sliding or soft close and even electronic doors. Finishes can be solid timber joinery to glass, or 2 pac with custom paint colours and finishes, we can work with you to find the best fit for your look and feel, within your budget.
Splashbacks
The splashback you choose will have a dramatic effect on the look and feel of your kitchen. While often the material used for your benchtops can be also used as your splashback, it isn’t essential that they match and in fact your kitchen splashback is one of the easiest components to have fun with when it comes to kitchen design.
Taking pride of place when it comes to making a visual statement, your kitchen splashback also doesn't require as much functionality as your bench tops, cabinetry, fixtures and fittings do. It also doesn’t need to be costly to achieve the “wow factor”. Updating your splashback is one of the easiest ways to add a pop of colour or update your kitchen look and feel in a renovation. You can choose from a variety of materials from glass and tile to stainless steel and more, colour is only limited by your imagination.
Find out more about ECHO’s kitchen splashback designs.
Fixtures and Fittings
When it comes to renovating, repairing or building a brand new kitchen, choosing the design, style and size of the cupboards and worktops, and sorting out the right layout of the room might seem like the most vital elements. But don’t overlook the fixtures and fittings too, as these are equally important and can help make or break the whole functionality as well as the look and feel of the room.
At the very least you’ll need to think about kitchen sinks, taps, cupboard and draw handles and lighting. Some things to remember when you’re thinking about fixtures and fittings are:
From Design to Dining
At ECHO Building + Construction, we recognise that each kitchen build is a personal process and we will communicate clearly and regularly with you at every stage.
At the concept stage, we will work with you to help you decide one what space there is to work with, for example if walls are being moved or opened up and discuss all the options you have available to you, within your space.
Then you can decide on the layout of your new kitchen, and the theme i.e. modern, heritage. At this stage we will introduce the look of the kitchen via the panels and doors (profile design) and develop the quality in the finish.
We’ll then explore finishes such as timber benchtops, natural stone, stainless, engineered stone, polished concrete, porcelain or laminate, depending on the look you’re going for and your budget.
Seal the deal with the splashback… tiled, glass or stone… single colour, mosaic… your style, your choice.
Finally, we make it functional with fixtures: Black sink and tapware? Or high-grade stainless fixtures? Should we introduce an island bench? Not to mention soft close drawers and cupboards, pendant lights and more…!
Installation
The ECHO team will coordinate the installation of your new kitchen. We will facilitate your installation from start to final handover and will be on hand to manage the process for you. To discuss installation of your new kitchen with the ECHO team, click here.
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