Greg and Jeanni O'Shea's Mirano Linen Kitchen

Greg and Jeanni O'Shea's Mirano Linen Kitchen

I've lived here for eight years and the old kitchen was built in the early 2000s and it was very compact, very small, quite dark. You couldn't have more than one person in the kitchen doing anything.

As I've gotten older and we've gotten married, we needed a bit more space to brighten the place up, make it more of a home than just an apartment. And the new kitchen has definitely achieved that.

We went with the Mirano range because it gave us that classic and clean feel while still being modern and beautiful.

We went for the linen colour because it's light and bright and exactly what we wanted.

It's an amazing place for us to spend a lot of time together, breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Clever Storage

There's so many features we love in this new kitchen. If we had to pin it down to one, it is the storage. It was such a small kitchen beforehand. It was so compact, and now it's just opened completely.

All the appliances are integrated which keeps a beautiful clean finish. We opted for the smaller dishwasher because it was also a big space saver, but it's just so convenient for everyday use. The integrated bins are ideal, especially because they're out of the way, but when you do open it, there's all the different sections and it's perfect.

The Quooker Tap

Something I really enjoy and use a lot is the Quooker Tap, I have my tea daily now, which is amazing. We also love the versatility of the tap, and the brass finish. It really matches the handles and looks beautiful in the kitchen.

The Peninsula Island

When we initially went in to speak with our designer, Aaron, we wanted an island and he actually advised us to go for a peninsula and turn it into a breakfast bar. And it's probably our favourite thing in the kitchen. And the most used. The use we've already gotten out of it is phenomenal. It's become the centre of our home and it's really brought us a little bit closer. One of us can set up our cooking station while the other is working on the table on the other side.

The slat panelling is a beautiful feature that we got to add in. It's a real statement that fits into the wooden, natural effect that we really wanted.

There's also so much storage that you wouldn't even think of, but you have the storage on one side, the seats on the other side and it's just absolutely amazing for us.

The Utility Cupboard

The utility cupboard has been so handy. We have a dryer and a washer all fit into a perfect little space, tucked away neatly, we never had that before it was always such an eyesore. We don't even know if they're on sometimes, we can get stuff done in the kitchen while having them on. That's definitely a big change from the previous kitchen.

Finishing Touches

One of the coolest features of the kitchen that has made a big difference for us, is the telescopic hood. When you came into the old kitchen, it was such an eyesore, the big extractor fan, but that's a thing of the past now.

The larder drawers are really handy. They pull right the way out and there's loads of storage. Nothing gets lost down the back, you can see everything.

And when cooking our lovely meals, it's so ideal how you just slide the oven door in, it tucks away neatly, it's not in your way and it allows us to have more space.

The glass cabinet really opens up the space so beautifully and the under lighting really sets the tone for the day.

The kitchen design process

We went to Cash & Carry Kitchens in Sandyford. and worked with Aaron Sheridan. He was perfect the whole way through, he made it a really simple process. He sat us down and immediately we started falling in love with the kitchen as he pulled all the different features together, advised us what would work best and he was dead right.

It was also nice because he really listened to what we wanted, gave options and made us realise we wanted things without even knowing we wanted them.

We took inspiration from the setup that they had in the showroom and we went with the brass handles and the worktop that beautifully matched the Mirano linen.

Greg and Jeanni's final verdict

We very proudly had our friends over last week.and we had the best time, we were all sitting around the peninsula and it was just so nice. It's an amazing place for us to spend a lot of time together, breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Our advice to someone redesigning their kitchen is to know what you want, but also be open to advice and to trust the experts, they know what they're doing with the space.