Behind every considered interior is equally considered fabrication. It transforms design intent into practical, lasting solutions, resolving technical challenges while maintaining the integrity of every detail.
Created in collaboration with BUNSTON, this guide explores how thoughtful fabrication and the Laminex Colour Collection 2027 work together to create purposeful curves, expansive joinery, sculptural geometry and grain continuity. Through each project, it demonstrates how considered fabrication elevates design ideas into spaces that feel effortless, enduring and beautifully resolved.
Curves that work
Curves are often associated with softness, but in these spaces they begin with purpose.
From improving the cleanability of a hardworking mudroom to encouraging connection within a shared multi-residential lounge, each curved element was designed around the way the space is used before becoming an architectural detail.
"Visually it's a nice detail, but it's designed around the practicality of the space. It's designed so you can clean it without having a 90-degree join where the splashback meets the benchtop." Says Zac, Director of BUNSTON.
Turning a functional idea into a seamless curved detail begins with a well-considered substrate. Curved surfaces, such as the splashback and lounge, are created by cold-forming Laminex High Pressure Laminate (HPL) over a curved substrate, such as Trade Essentials Craftform. The HPL is adhered directly to the curved substrate, allowing the material to follow generous radii while maintaining a continuous surface. This approach is particularly suited to open-angled curves, creating a seamless transition between the horizontal and vertical planes without a visible rear junction. The result is a detail that is both visually quieter and easier to clean.
Finished in Laminex HPL Scribbly Gum, the curved splashback in the mudroom demonstrates how thoughtful fabrication can improve the everyday performance of a hardworking space. The same approach is applied very differently in the curved multi-residential lounge, finished in Laminex HPL Red Centre, where the generous radius encourages people to gather and interact within a shared environment. Together, the two projects show how Laminex HPL can move beyond conventional flat cabinetry to create durable, continuous surfaces that respond to the needs of each space while showcasing the versatility of the material in larger sculptural applications.
Whether improving the everyday practicality of a mudroom or creating a place for people to gather, thoughtful fabrication can shape the way a space is experienced.
To learn more about cold-forming Laminex High Pressure Laminate (HPL) and designing curved surfaces, see the Laminex guide Cold-forming vs Post-forming.
Scale Without Compromise
Large-scale joinery brings a sense of calm to a space, allowing the material to read as a single, uninterrupted surface. Achieving that simplicity, however, requires careful consideration long before fabrication begins.
Creating expansive joinery is about far more than increasing panel sizes. As dimensions grow, so too do the demands placed on the finished piece. Long spans require careful support, oversized doors demand stability, and even small inconsistencies become more noticeable across larger surfaces.
The By a River Kitchen features oversized pantry doors that maximise the impact of Laminex Decorated MDF Nullarbor Drift across the full height of the joinery. Concealed door straighteners help maintain flatness over time while preserving the clean appearance of the finished panels. Balanced construction, quality substrates and carefully considered hardware all contribute to long-term performance.
The In the City Kitchen demonstrates that expansive benchtops rely on more than simply increasing their size. Although it appears as one continuous element, the benchtop is fabricated from two carefully joined sections, reinforced with a concealed steel frame to support the dramatic cantilever while maintaining a refined, lightweight appearance. Finished in Laminex HPL Raw Blue Gum TrueScale™ in AbsoluteGrain® finish, the large-scale, no-repeat pattern helps maintain the impression of one uninterrupted surface. Laminex TrueScale™ Woodgrains are available in sheet sizes up to 3600 × 1800 mm, enabling expansive benchtops to be fabricated without a join where project dimensions allow. For larger applications, careful planning, panel layout and fabrication techniques allow the same sense of continuity to be carried across adjoining elements.
Whether designing oversized doors, tall panels or expansive benchtops, it's worth discussing dimensions, substrates, reinforcement and hardware with your fabricator early in the design process. Careful planning allows larger formats to perform as intended while maintaining the visual simplicity that defines the finished space.
"We always start by thinking about who's living in the space and how we want it to feel. From there, a restrained and consistent material palette helps create spaces that feel calm, cohesive and resolved."
Geometry Meets Joinery
The best details work as part of a larger whole.
Mitred drawer fronts transform functional storage into sculptural forms, but their success relies on more than precise fabrication. When thoughtfully developed, they become part of the architecture, rather than a feature in isolation.
"The sculptural drawers are just one of the details within the space. The geometry of them ties into the bookshelves on the opposite wall. It also breaks up the curves too."
Although they appear to be formed from a single solid piece, mitred drawer fronts are typically fabricated around a conventional drawer box. Precise mitred joins, careful edge alignment and accurate assembly allow the detail to maintain clean lines while remaining durable enough for everyday use.
Fabricated in Laminex Decorated Board, the mitred drawer fronts demonstrate how thoughtful detailing can elevate functional joinery into a defining design element while maintaining the durability required for everyday living.
When fabricating mitred details, allow for precise machining, consistent edge treatment and accurate assembly. Careful planning and fabrication ensure these sculptural forms remain crisp, durable and aligned over time.
Well Matched
The most natural-looking grain is rarely accidental.
Book matching aligns the grain across adjoining panels, allowing the timber pattern to flow naturally from one surface to the next, creating a more cohesive result.
Using Laminex Decorated MDF Calm Blue Gum TrueScale™ in AbsoluteGrain® finish in the On the Coast kitchen and Laminex Decorated MDF Raw Spotted Gum TrueScale™ in AbsoluteGrain® finish in the laundry, both projects show how thoughtful planning allows timber-inspired décors to read as a single, continuous composition.
Grain direction should be considered across larger panels, long cabinetry runs and connected surfaces. Sequencing panels from the same sheet and optimising layouts before cutting allows the grain to flow naturally across joins while minimising material waste. Laminex TrueScale® décors, with their large-scale, no-repeat pattern, further support this outcome by reducing visible repetition across larger installations.
Discuss panel sizes, grain direction and sheet optimisation with your fabricator before finalising cabinetry layouts.
"We designed the whole kitchen around a 750 by 2.4 metre module because we knew that was the sheet size. We wanted the grain to continue naturally through the kitchen rather than cutting sheets in half and losing that continuity."
Beyond colour alone, each project demonstrates how thoughtful fabrication brings together material, form and function to create spaces that feel resolved.
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