Quiet Confidence: Inside a Kitchen Transformation with Kaas Interiors and Castella
For interior designer Lynette Yannakakis of Kaas Interiors, every detail has the power to transform a home. In her South Melbourne terrace project, Lynette reimagined an underutilised kitchen into a refined, welcoming hub for family and friends—balancing heritage character with contemporary calm.
The new space feels intentional and enduring, anchored by natural stone, soft timber joinery, and the quiet strength of Castella’s Ridge handle in bronze. “It’s about creating a space that feels effortless, but also deeply considered,” Lynette reflects.
Reclaiming the Heart of the Home
The brief was personal and heartfelt: design a kitchen that would bring people together. For the homeowners, the space needed to be more than functional; it had to become a social hub, where their son could cook alongside them and where guests would always feel welcome.
In a narrow terrace home, this required more than just style. The kitchen needed to bridge the heritage front rooms with the modern rear extension, while also delivering storage and flow without the luxury of additional furniture. As Lynette explains, “The kitchen really had to do it all—serve as both function and furniture.”
Curves, Calm, and Clever Design
One of Lynette’s boldest yet most subtle design choices was the pill-shaped island. Its soft curves guide movement through the room, eliminating visual barriers. “A straight, sharp island would have felt like an obstacle. With curves, you invite flow,” she says.
The cabinetry—expertly crafted by Nosiva Custom Cabinetry—balances storage and openness. Tall units provide structure on one side, while low-line joinery on the other allows light to breathe through the room. This interplay between enclosure and openness gives the kitchen its serene sense of balance.
Hardware That Speaks to the Space
For Lynette, hardware was never an afterthought—it was a detail that carried weight. “Hardware is a high-touch point in any kitchen; you interact with it every single day,” she explains.
The Ridge handle was chosen for its tactile fluted profile and transitional aesthetic. “The bronze finish brought warmth and complemented both the natural stone and the timber veneer. It tied everything together in a way that felt subtle, but significant.”
By selecting hardware that is both functional and refined, Lynette ensured the kitchen has a quiet cohesion—an elegance that doesn’t shout, but endures.
Small Details, Big Impact
Designing within the limitations of a terrace home often sparks the most creative solutions. In this project, a narrow floor plan led Lynette to reimagine an adjacent hallway into a compact butler’s pantry—a clever space that keeps appliances tucked away and allows the main kitchen to remain calm and clutter-free.
Natural stone became the palette anchor, selected personally by the client. Its movement and veining informed the materiality, while Castella’s Ridge bronze hardware echoed its warmth, creating a sense of continuity from surface to surface.
Longevity Through Simplicity
Rather than chase trends, Lynette focused on enduring materials—timber, stone, recessed profiles, and classic hardware. The cabinetry’s bold yet timeless palette reflects the client’s individuality while honouring the home’s architectural context.
“We always design for the client, not the trend,” she notes. “That’s where hardware plays such an important role—when you choose the right scale, shape, and finish, it lasts far beyond the moment.”
A Quiet Confidence
In the end, it’s the layered balance that defines this kitchen: the light-guiding island, the bespoke joinery, the natural materials, and the tactile hardware. Each element works in harmony to create a space that feels both serene and deeply personal.
“It’s the kind of design that may not shout at first glance,” Lynette says, “but it changes how you feel in the room. That’s the power of quiet confidence.”
And with Castella’s Ridge handle anchoring the palette with warmth and tactility, this South Melbourne kitchen proves that when you craft for the discerning eye, every detail has the power to elevate the heart of the home.