The kitchen inside this Melbourne apartment is designed to look more like a gallery, where furniture and fittings appear as art objects.

The apartment, which is located in the Melbourne suburb of Footscray, was reconfigured and renovated by BoardGrove. The architects described it as having "no personality or character", and hoped to open up circulation and maximise natural light.

They began by converting the living, dining and cooking areas into a single, open-plan space. Bedrooms were reconfigured to have two openings each, and the ceilings were raised to create a loft-like feel.

As the kitchen is visible from the living room, the architects designed the space as an "ambiguous cooking area" where appliances are concealed.

Three main structures were developed: a bench made from solid surface material Corian, a large metal door and an arched alcove where the cooker is hidden. Appliances are kept out of sight in drawers on either side of the breakfast bar.

The designers chose a colour palette of pink and soft grey to soften the existing concrete floor and walls, which were exposed during the renovation.

"The gallery-like aspect came about through expressing and celebrating the existing bones of the apartment – concrete floors and walls," architect Pete Grove told Dezeen. "Within this the key objects that make up the kitchen facilities were inserted to add some warmth and personality to the space."

"As the living, dining and cooking spaces were open plan, we wanted to avoid creating a stereotype functional kitchen as the backdrop to the living space," he added. "Instead we aimed to create a more ambiguous cooking area that appeared as a collection of sculptural, art-like objects."

This gallery aspect is continued into the corridors, where the architects installed an eight-metre-long shelf for the clients to place their art and design books.

"The clients had a strong love of contemporary art, furniture and art and design books," said Grove. "Too often the beauty of book covers are concealed in a typical bookcase."

"The shelf provided a way of enjoying their book collection and artwork in a changing manner."

Boardgrove Architects is a relatively young studio, founded in 2016 by Grove and Holly Board. The Australian practice previously designed a pair of steel tables made from opposing forms that appear to have been cut from the same piece.

Photography is by Haydn Cattach.