Fenix open space kitchen, created for a young and dynamic family

We’re visiting Millo Residence, Voluntari, a quiet, closed-circuit residential complex, where children can play safely and feel free. Here, most families have children, and they are about the same age, so they can make friends quickly.

We are visiting the kitchen of the Ceban family, Ghenadie and Cristina. Together with their daughter, Amalia, they moved to a new house in the residential complex starting with May 2020.

We were acquainted with Ghenadie Ceban at the beginning of 2020, when he came to the MyKitchen Studio showroom after an honorary tour of all kitchen furniture manufacturers in Bucharest. In search of the ideal kitchen offer, Ghenadie became an expert in the offers of local producers, based on his own documentation and comparative studies with the proposals received.

Once he arrived at our showroom, we understood that we would either work together or he would have to find an alternative again. The consulting session started with difficulty because the architect’s sketch could not be made in production for a number of functional and aesthetic reasons.

The collaboration with Ghenadie did not hold the promise of enchanting results, given the fact that he was a „seasoned” client, he made his homework and was up to date with all info in the kitchen design field, yet he had lost his enthusiasm along the way.

After the first consulting session, we invited him back to the showroom to present him the project made according to his requirements, but completely different from his expectations.

The first moments were tense due to the element of surprise – the kitchen did not look like Ghenadie imagined, and this „small” overall detail could have been a problem, or it could have been the right solution. Slowly, after the “welcome” shock, the new design became aligned with the client’s vision, the meeting became more relaxed and we worked together on the studio’s proposal, with personalized elements according to Ghenadie’s ideas.

 “In 2 hours we disagreed 4 times, but we reconciled in the middle with a variant that we both liked. It was best for me to have been contradicted, denied, and later guided by Andrei in designing the kitchen. He took a cue from my theoretical ideas, refused first-hand practical solutions, helped me define my desires and expectations regarding kitchen furniture. More than a furniture creator, Andrei is a kitchen designer.”

• Ghenadie Ceban

* Click on images for a larger version.

Ghenadie wanted an open space kitchen with furniture without handles, with a matte look, essential and minimalist lines, which would define certain working areas within the ground floor space – kitchen utility area, bar area, dining area.

Our project started from a central point of interest, the transition from the utility kitchen area to the dining area via a central island. Above the island, we have an open shelf that correlates the suspended units, left and right, those in the utility area, and the glass units in the dining area.

The backlighted, bronze acid-etched glass case showcases Ghenadie’s growing collection of crystal glasses, luxury elements in the dining room which come in contrast to the kitchen utility ensemble.

The central island attracts all  Ghenadie and Cristina’s house guests, it’s also the favorite place for family meals. The island delimits the kitchen areas and allows the hosts to entertain guests with snacks and drinks.

The material requested by Ghenadie for the fronts was explicitly Fenix, with two color finishes – Fenix NTM Grigio Bromo and Fenix Grigio Efesso. He appreciates this material due to its simplicity of use – easy cleaning, scratch resistance, and velvety texture. The worktop is made of HPL Porfido Mika Nero, with a thickness of 20 mm, being the only composition element to be replaced in a few years with a granite countertop, preferably.

“Although the stone maybe a little more expensive, and the budget did not allow us extravagances this time, I am thinking of replacing the HPL Mika Nero countertop with a granite countertop in a few years, when the budget will be suitable for ideas of renewal. ”

After installing the kitchen and moving to the new house, the family easily integrated the kitchen configuration into everyday life, and the central island became the core of the ground floor area and Amalia’s, their little daughter’s favorite area, an element that impresses every guest.

Kitchen materials