We always say that ‘the kitchen is the hub of the home’ but this kitchen truly is the beating heart of this home and the star of the show is the island bench.

Louisa had always dreamed of a statement island bench, topped with gorgeous marble-look stone and this one is unlike any other we’ve done before. It needed to be taller than standard to cater for Louisa’s taller than average height, have the induction cooktop contained in the island (big tick from Erin!) and be two-tiered with the cooking area up top and dining table below.

THE STONE SPECIFICS

The island bench was such an important feature of the kitchen and no detail was spared to get it just right. Our brief to Talostone was for a stone that:

✔️Has a bigger vein that’s slightly more subdued than what we might pick for a smaller benchtop

✔️Has a marble-inspired, luxe look looks great at a chunky, 100mm thickness

✔️Looks great at a chunky, 100mm thickness

✔️Left Louisa speechless when we found it!

THE CHOSEN ONE

There’s no better way to pick your perfect stone than to eyeball the slabs yourself so we went en masse to the Talostone warehouse to help select ‘the one’. We were spoilt for choice with so many different colours and finishes to choose between but there was a clear winner on the day.

We’re calling it the little black dress, a pop of red lipstick, it’s the classic marble-look stone that will go with anything and everything and will stand the test of time. And we found it…

🤍 Calacatta Luxe 🤍

THE FINISHING TOUCHES

At 940mm high, the top tier of this bench is slightly taller than the standard 900mm. The lower table section is 780mm high. If you don’t have enough room for a dining table in the same area as your kitchen, dropping the area around your island to create a built-in dining table can be a great way to bring the dining and prep area together. There is an art to getting this right, though. The art is in the millimetres. The height of the benchtop needs to be right, but the ledge needs to look good and be tall enough so that anyone sitting at it has clearance for their knees.

We complemented the stunning stone with traditional moulded cabinetry from Carrera by Design throughout the kitchen and butler’s pantry, including fluted glass door details, gold hardware and pops of timber through the dining chairs, pendant light and accessories. Then there’s the new Woodcut colour, Sea Salt, a creamy beachy grey in a herringbone lay on the floor.

but wait, there’s more!

We were so blown away by the massive range of colours and finished at the Talostone warehouse that we decided to change up our stone selections throughout the home. In some situations more is more!

After agreeing that stone benchtops were on our ‘splurge’ rather than ‘save’ list for this house, we invested in engineered stone in a range of different colours and finishes for the laundry, powder room, main bathroom and pool house.