Other influences were hazy, gloomy, ethereal artworks and films. Those inspirations in the hands of designers Kirsty Fletcher and Giles Lawson, directors of Melbourne’s The Rexroth Mannasmann Collective, are anything but gloomy.

Resene Innocence, used over the walls and vaulted ceiling of this kitchen, is loved by the owners for how it changes in different light conditions. The three sliding doors are painted in Resene Woodsmoke, Resene Blue Bark and Resene Bastille.

Kirsty says most finishes in the kitchen were chosen by the owners for their mutability in relation to light sources and other nearby colours.

“The whole house was about creating moody, atmospheric spaces and we initially struggled to find a paint colour for the kitchen that had some life to it and wasn’t overwhelmed by other adjacent dark surfaces.”

The original plan for the high, steeply angled kitchen ceiling was to paint it black, but the angles and expanse of the space meant getting a good finish was tricky. Instead the owners opted for Resene Innocence. Not only did it work well with extensive use of black in other parts of the living area, both the owners and Kirsty loved the changeable nature of the shade.

“Resene Innocence is a chameleonic colour that changes from grey to green to blue yet sits in harmony with the black fit-out,” Kirsty says.

Giles adds that with black as a feature colour in many other areas of the home, the kitchen colour needed to both blend with black while offering some subtle contrast. One of the charms of Resene Innocence, he says, is that it can look different in different areas of the same room.

“Are the walls and ceiling blue? Grey? Green? How can it be the same paint on all the surfaces?”

The new kitchen was built in place of a lean-to at the rear of an old Edwardian home in Melbourne, and was part of a larger renovation of the property that also included a walk-in pantry and an adjacent living area.

One of the striking, yet practical, features of the kitchen is the addition of three large sliding doors that can divide the kitchen off from the otherwise open plan living area. The doors are painted in Resene Bastille, Resene Blue Bark and Resene Woodsmoke, colours again chosen for the way the light alters around them.

“Depending on the time of the day, the lighting and the angle of viewing the doors morph from a black backdrop to part of the colour scheme, adding blue, green and purple highlights,” Kirsty says.

The finished kitchen, she says, meets the original brief to create a great place for cooking, with plenty of storage so the space looks uncluttered, using robust, no-fuss materials that had longevity. The owners say it has also become the social hub of the home.

IN KIRSTY’S WORDS

What is your favourite part of the finished kitchen?
The blackened-brass handles (that will age and wear over time), the Nerofino quartzite stone and the oodles of storage, but really, we love it all.

Describe your cooking style.
Varied but we love to use fresh, seasonal, home-grown or local produce to make veggie-centric meals.

TOP TIP If you’re repainting cabinetry, use Resene Lustacryl semi-gloss waterborne enamel for a hardwearing, durable finish.