Kitchens & Bathrooms Quarterly

Talk about action-packed! This edition of Kitchens & Bathrooms Quarterly is jammed with quality content designed to help you navigate the adventurous road through kitchen and bathroom renovations. It is my privilege each quarter to curate the content within this publication and even I am thrilled by this edition’s offerings. We kick off the WOW edition, as I’m calling it, with a look at Australia’s favourite home renovation show, The Block. Strolling through some of the stunning kitchens and bathrooms created by this year’s contestants offers plenty of inspiration starting on page 57. If you’re looking for a little insight into future kitchen trends, you’ll want to flip to page 70 to explore our round-up of all things innovative in kitchens from this year’s EuroCucina. Held in Milan every two years, this…

PARISIAN CULINARY EXCLUSIVE French luxury appliance brand La Cornue opened its first Australian flagship store in Sydney in October 2022. Located at the corner of Foveaux and Commonwealth Streets in Surry Hills, Sydney, the luxury showroom showcases the company’s collection of exceptional artisan cookers. Built on the cornerstones of luxury and excellence, La Cornue has been spruiking its kitchen appliances to voracious cooks since 1908. Renowned for their artistry, quality and innovation, La Cornue ranges offer everything a budding chef needs in the realm of culinary architecture. Manufactured exclusively to order, its products are handmade in France, crafted by artisans in steel, copper and brass. Until now, La Cornue appliances have only been available through its Australian distributor, Andi-Co Australia, and exclusive retailers such as Hart & Co Appliances in Perth, WA. Also…

ASHLEY MADDISON | AM INTERIOR STUDIO Brisbane designer, Ashley Maddison, created a French-inspired retreat with all the fancy frills for her Hawthorne clients. A well-positioned tub allows the homeowners to soak in the city views, while clever planning separates this on-show bathing from the out-of-sight ablutions at the opposite end of the space. A fully fitted his-and-her robe sits between the two, serving as a dressing room that is both private and practical. The dramatic wallpaper sets the scene of this suite, and selected fixtures and finishes tie the space together beautifully. If a master suite or parents’ retreat is on your wish list, find a skilled designer today at kbdi.org.au An ensuite connected with a main bedroom is a typical expectation of most Australian homes today. But stepping it up to a…

This year’s season of The Block swaps the city for the country with a tree change challenge in Victoria’s Macedon Ranges. On a larger scale than ever before, the 18th season of the well-loved show sees five city-slicker couples build a sustainable, 500sqm house on acreage at Gisborne South. Always on the most watched list, The Block is a reality TV favourite for Australian viewers who are undoubtedly drawn to the colourful personalities as much as the fierce competition and dramatic room reveals. “I thought we’d done a lot of big Blocks in the past, but nothing like this,” says host Scotty Cam. “It’s massive!” So massive, in fact, that celebrity couple Elle Ferguson and Joel Patfull walk off-site in just the third episode. Overwhelmed by the enormity of the task, the…

Brutally honest and unfailingly vocal, Tom and Sarah-Jane are not afraid to let their feelings be known. From Gladstone Park in Melbourne’s suburbs, the young parents-of-one are on a mission to win the competition and make a better life for their daughter Cleo. Tom is a hard-working plumber who owns his own business and loves putting in a long day’s work. “I could work 24 hours a day, I love it,” he says. “So that part of The Block is not going to bother me, I’m going to relish it.” Making up for a lack of hands-on experience with grit and determination, Sarah-Jane is a social worker with a positive, can-do attitude. “People always say that I’m so loud,” she says. “Yes, I’m a lot, and some people don’t like it, but…

Coming to The Block with little building experience, Ankur and Sharon are a professional couple more accustomed to high society than mucky building sites. Learning fast, the glamorous Melbournians soon swapped their fashionable outfits for workwear and steel-capped boots, unwilling to let a lack of expertise hold them back. Ankur, an accountant by day, says the terrifying unfamiliarity of The Block was part of the appeal for him. “This is something so out of my comfort zone,” he says. “With accounting it’s something you fall into, and you do it because it’s a safe and stable income. But after the lockdowns, I really wanted to grow and do something different and completely random, and what better way to do that than go on The Block?” Similarly inexperienced but ready to give anything…