Tom Mark Henry’s use of the Laminex range of Australian Native décors delivers a fresh new take on woodgrains, providing a bold, yet liveable palette, while remaining practical and functional.
Recreating the detailed designs of Tom Mark Henry’s Family Kitchen can be achieved with some strategic planning, a skilled cabinet maker, and with Laminex Next Generation Woodgrains. Speaking with Andy Joachim of Evolve Interiors, cabinet maker for The Family Kitchen, the finer details of this project were revealed.
The Island
“So, for the island benchtop, we get Laminex to provide a pre-pressed benchtop in Laminex Outback Clay (the outer colour of the bench). It’s a HPL — High Pressure Laminate — sheet pressed on 25 mm board. We then take Tom Mark Henry’s design and dimensions and plug them into the CNC machine to rout out the inlay for the AbsoluteGrain®.”
This second sheet Laminex Blackbutt TrueScale AbsoluteGrain® is once again in HPL, on 18mm board for perfectly flat adhesion. With the routing complete on the 25mm board, this second piece is inlaid with the two décors fitting like a glove, the seam exact. A final piece of 25mm MDF board is cut to the same unique shape and adhered underneath to create the 50mm thickness required by the design.
“I then ran a 50mm HPL edge in Laminex Outback Clay all the way around, cleaned it up and called it a day. If you did the benchtops by hand, if they were cold pressed, you might have some issues with the top not being perfectly flat; you’ll need to use pre-pressed laminate to guarantee a flat substrate and a perfectly flat piece of board,” says Andy.
Grain Direction
“Each door is three panels in two grain directions; top and bottom going one way and the middle going the other. We treat each door as three individual doors.”
Laminex Victorian Ash TrueScale AbsoluteGrain® panels are cut to size, and each is edged on all four sides in matching ABS edging. The benefits of this are two-fold. It creates the necessary shadow-line between each panel accentuating the change of grain while allowing for cleaner connections. Using a Lamello machine to insert biscuits into each panel, the technique includes a metal element that uses an Allen key to clamp them together ensuring a snug and secure fit.
The biggest concern for doors of this size is the risk of them not being flat.
“You’ve got to make sure when you glue them, that they’re flat, because as soon as you cut into a door like this, you create a weakness, or two weaknesses in this case,” says Andy. “When we glue doors like this, we make sure we lay them flat, that we let them dry overnight and we don’t try to rush clamping time or anything like that, and they should be fine.”
Andy fastens four hinges to each door* to ensure uniform attachment to the cabinets. Because they’re upright, the force is in the right direction “and once the handles go on, the whole bottom section is supported, and you’re never going to have a problem with that.”
*Please note that hinge number will be subject to the weight of the completed door—different sizes may require a different number and placement of hinges.
Custom Handles
Tom Mark Henry added further detail to the large pantry doors by designing gentle, almost surfboard-like shapes for handles. Not just a graceful shape, they can be reached no matter one’s height, offering the perfect counterpoint to the Laminex Victorian Ash TrueScale AbsoluteGrain® doors and façades found throughout.
Created in Laminex Blackbutt TrueScale AbsoluteGrain® on an 18mm substrate, the basic shape is cut out using a CNC machine. The facing handle silhouette and the return is cut as one piece and using a very fine, sharp blade, are mitred back on themselves allowing a grain match detail at the seam.
“When you glue them, there is no room for error, they must be perfect from the get-go. Laminex AbsoluteGrain® can be tricky; ensure you have a new blade and sand the mitre finely to avoid exposing the substrate.
Creating Patterns with Alternating Decors
One of the more subtle details of the kitchen required some of the more out of the box thinking and preparation. Behind overhead Laminex Brushed Stainless Steel doors, Tom Mark Henry designed alternating décor and grain shelves for a hidden bar.
Much like the surfboard handles of the facades, the shelves were made with mitred edges. The difference here is that the shelves have been made with three sides - top, facing and bottom panels - designed to slot over cleats in the cabinet. Once the shelf is slotted over, they are screwed in from the side of the cabinet to fasten. The screws will eventually be covered by the Laminex Brushed Stainless Steel, neatly hiding all construction.
To form each shelf, Andy creates long panels in the direction and finish laid out by Tom Mark Henry’s plans. Each panel has its respective Laminex Next Generation Woodgrain applied to all four sides which Andy then places in order. Making sure the panels are flush, they are carefully glued and clamped top and bottom to avoid bending in either direction.
“We cut the shelf for the top, bottom and facing pieces, folding them in on themselves, which we mitre for flush joins with grain matching all the way through on every single piece.”
With very little room for error, like the cupboard handles, mitres need to be precisely machined to achieve the perfect join, and of course, context and end-use is critical to the durability and success of any material.
“Mitring is a great finish, but you got to pick you areas, say a handle or a shelf, but for high traffic areas, like a benchtop, ABS edging is absolutely the way to go.”
Banner image features Laminex Blackbutt TrueScale™ AbsoluteGrain® (benchtop) and Laminex Outback Clay (benchtop and table). Designed by Tom Mark Henry, photographed by Lillie Thompson, styling by Natalie James, art direction by Ortolan and joinery by Evolve Interiors.
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Contributors:
Campaign: Laminex
Design: Tom Mark Henry
Photographer: Lillie Thomson
Video: SIRAP
Stylist: Natalie James
Art Direction & Production: Ortolan
Joinery: Evolve Interiors
Floor Tiles: Eco Outdoor
Splashback & Wall Tiles: Artedomus
Appliances: Fisher & Paykel
Tapware & Sink: Oliveri
Wall Sconces: We Ponder
Barstools: Daniel Boddam
Dining Chairs: Tom Fereday
Featured Products:
Cabinetry:
Laminex Victorian Ash TrueScale™ AbsoluteGrain® Finish (Doors & Drawers)
Laminex Blackbutt TrueScale™ AbsoluteGrain® Finish (Benchtop & Custom Pantry Handles)
Laminex Bluestone (Internal Cabinetry)
Laminex Brushed Stainless Steel (Upper Cabinetry, Rangehood & Base Cabinetry)
Island Bench:
Laminex Blackbutt TrueScale™ AbsoluteGrain® Finish
Laminex Outback Clay
Table:
Laminex Outback Clay
Laminex Brushed Stainless Steel
Other:
Artedomus Elba Marble Mosaic Tile (Splashback & Walls)
Fisher & Paykel (Appliances)
Oliveri (Tap & Sink)
Eco Outdoor Sarelle Tile in Grey, Lightly Distressed (Flooring)
Featuring Laminex Blackbutt TrueScale™ AbsoluteGrain® (island base, benchtops and custom handles), Laminex Victorian Ash TrueScale™ AbsoluteGrain® (cabinetry), Laminex Outback Clay (island top and table), and Laminex Brushed Stainless Steel (range hood and table base). Designed by Tom Mark Henry, photographed by Lillie Thompson, styling by Natalie James, art direction by Ortolan and joinery by Evolve Interiors.