BLU LINE

“The ideal kitchen,” brand director Philip Richards believes is “one that is functional first and then customised with contrasting textures and materials, providing a neutral palette with various levels in the kitchen that bring the wow factor. The kitchen then becomes the interior anchor to the rest of the home.” Ultimately, that’s where this 15-year old local brand differentiates itself, in the interpretation of the space, and not simply the supply of components. Their kitchens are unashamedly modern, clean lined and bespoke, with functionality at their core and a range of contemporary materials like glass, metal, stone, concrete and wood.

FUTURE CLASSICS

You’d be forgiven for veering off track when driving past Future Classics’ almost new Parkhurst showroom. The epitome of the brand’s classic contemporary, raw and refined style with overt simplicity, a linear language and a host of understated materials, it’s hard ignore. You may not have realised it, but Future Classics is home grown from design to manufacture, importing only the very best hardware from Europe. Owner Heidi Arenstein sums up the company’s 30 year journey as having “morphed from being primarily a furniture design company with a small kitchen arm, to being a kitchen design company with a small furniture arm.” Some of the materials they love to work with include natural oiled veneers, quartz, natural marbles and solid timbers.  

BERLONI

Having begun 57 years ago out of a family garage in Pesaro, Italy, Berloni brought heritage, diversity and a wealth of experience to the kitchen market upon their arrival here in 1990. Not only do they offer endless solutions and styles, appealing to nearly every taste and budget, but they also strive to run a green operation in terms of both manufacture and social impact. The perfect kitchen, sales Director Yaniv Belinky believes, would be “a functional and ergonomically designed one that offers great volumetric spaces and open storage spaces with interesting and captivating focal points.”

FABRI

When asked how the nature of their kitchens has changed with time, Fabri business director Ricardo Sabino Costa explains: “Currently, clients are looking for kitchens that feel like part of the home, rather than a pristine space that looks very obviously like a kitchen.” For the 33-year-old Portuguese brand, kitchens are about quality, elegance and exclusivity with an approach to design that’s simple and timeless, but “aligned with the latest trends and reduced to the minimum but with all the necessary features,” he goes on. The Fabri team have a number of awards under their belt, the last of which was a nomination as one of 2016’s Most Innovative Companies in South Africa.  

BULTHAUP

Bringing meaning to the term German precision engineering, this 68-year-old brand specialises in  bespoke, high end kitchens in the luxury sector. The innovation that they bring to the manufacturing process gives them an edge in the kitchens market, since the latest materials are “engineered in ways that aren’t possible locally,” explains design director Ramon Casado. With three dynamic lines as their starting point, B1, B2 and B3 offer a deceptively simple, fully customisable offering to build from. “Combining luxury with precision is a unique aspect of bulthaup’s DNA. Its product lines have re-invented the design of the kitchen itself and won numerous awards,” he continues.

BOFFI

They may be newcomers to SA, but Boffi’s 83 years of existence in Italy means they’re a serious global contender in the kitchens scene. Multiple international design awards and a glut of the most prominent architects and designers of the modern era (think Zaha Hadid) collaborating with the brand, and you can understand why their arrival last year in Cape Town caused so much hype. Boffi’s reputation for ground breaking innovation and cutting edge technology coupled with a respect for heritage methods and materials makes them one of the world’s most sought after kitchen brands.

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