Maximising Stone Yield in Kitchen Joinery to Reduce Material Waste

One of the benefits of designing joinery in-house is innovating solutions to maximise material yields to reduce waste during the manufacturing process. This is achieved through careful planning of joinery pieces during the design phase of a project in collaboration with the CAD, estimating and CNC teams who will be delivering the furniture. By integrating stone and MDF/timber board size consideration during the joinery design phase, pieces can be adapted to suit particular slab sizes.

For our recent fitout project at 141 Walker St, North Sydney, our design and manufacturing teams developed a kitchen joinery set where all stone elements could be cut from a single slab. Following the documentation of the main kitchen unit, rather than discarding the offcut of the slab used, the team decided to retain it to create a curved "donut" feature on the island bench.

In this project, stone yield was maximised through considering slab size in relation to:

• Size of kitchen bench required (ensuring there is adequate space for food preparation, appliance storage, and cabinetry)

• Splashback options (a 150mm stone upstand cut from the same slab as the benchtop was installed, creating a cohesive look throughout the main kitchen joinery unit)

• Sink and tap integration (early layout decisions helped define usable stone zones and offcut areas)

• Central kitchen island (a circular stone touchpoint made from bench offcuts with a built in planter added an extra dimension to the kitchen island)

The benefits of this approach to sustainable joinery design included:

• Material cost savings for the client

• Visual cohesion throughout the kitchen by keeping materiality consistent

• Reduced waste from offcuts (sustainability benefit)

The result is a beautiful and cohesive break room joinery set that stands out as a highlight of the suite.