Project in Fortfield Drive, Terenure

This lovely extension design by Adrian Buckley of BPA was completed during the summer. The intension was to keep the kitchen nice and light with the island becoming a focal point in the centre, like a piece of furniture.

An off white mat finish was chosen for the most part, with a grey oak wood on the island, which is very unique looking. The island was highlighted as a feature by using a dark granite, with lightly speckled quartz on the back walls and backsplash cladding. 

Two islands are better than one

This property originally consisted of two top floor apartments which were knocked into one large pent house.  The project architect Martin Noone came to us with a very interesting outline design which incorporated the living, dinning and kitchen areas into one large space.

We were delighted to be one of only three finalists with this project in the 32 counties for the best kitchen design 2010. We used the back of the central fireplace as a natural border between the kitchen and living spaces. By swinging this section around in a gentle curve we gave the kitchen a natural perimeter and this also doubled as a breakfast bar.

This bar allowed family and friends to add life and activity to the kitchen space. The dinning area is only used for bigger gatherings and meals. Click here to see the project file

Handless Kitchens

This lovely bright contemporary extension was designed by Carew Kelly Architects [http://www.carewkelly.ie/]. Our "handless" kitchen style was perfectly suited to the clean lines of the interior.

The space was maximised by creating a U shaped peninsula layout, which increased the worktop area and simultaneously provided a natural perimeter for the kitchen and living room. If you would like to see a full gallery of this project please click on the following link [Avondale Lawn].

New Wiring Rules & Regulations in House design

The new rules relating to the isolation of plug sockets for kitchen appliances were discussed during the course of the recent RECI Wiring Rules training courses.

It was decided if a socket outlet is readily accessible it is not necessary to install an extra means of isolation. This is fine for a single oven switch, which the general public will be used to seeing on the back wall of their kitchens.

It does not solve the issue of having multiple isolator switches for refrigeration, dishwashers and compact appliances however. You could have up to five or more extra switches to accommodate on the back walls of the kitchen, depending on the selection of appliances on your project.

While this is very unsightly as you can see on the kitchen below, more importantly we found it was restricting the amount of plug sockets that could be put on the kitchen walls.

This causes a major problem as home owners need several plug sockets to cater for items like kettles, toasters and an array of other appliances on their worktops. These switches take up this vital plug socket space.

We have been delighted with the response so far to the open mornings we have been running at our Harrington St showroom to outline to Architects, Designers and the public on how these new rules can be tackled while keeping their kitchen designs intact.

Contact us at 01 476 3780 or design@maisegroup.com if you would like to find out more about these new wiring rules and how they will impact your kitchen

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