When X+O embarked on the fitout for Smeg’s new Sydney showroom, EGGER Light Vicenza Oak from ForestOne was an early and confident specification choice.

Surely there can be no greater endorsement of a product than a specifier saying they rate it so highly they used it in their own office?

But that’s exactly the response from X+O’s design director, Rebecca Vulic, when asked about ForestOne’s EGGER Light Vicenza Oak and why she chose it for a recent project – the new showroom of kitchen appliance titan, Smeg.

“We’ve used Light Vicenza Oak ourselves in our own studio on our joinery and we know how beautiful it is. It’s so amazing,” says Vulic. “So when we saw the global guidelines for showroom design for Smeg, we instantly knew that it was the right one.”

Smeg recently opened a flagship 850-square metre showroom in the restored heritage-listed Woolstores building in the southern Sydney suburb of Alexandria. The global brand had plenty of experience working with X+O, so when it came time to select the interior design team for the latest fitout, Smeg went straight to the tried and trusted.

And in return, so did X+O. “We had a pretty good intimate knowledge of the product, the aesthetic lines, the brand and the customer,” says Vulic, “and then we’ve been working with ForestOne for goodness knows how many years.

“We have a particular affiliation with them because I know they hit all our sustainability credentials. So I feel very confident and comfortable in specifying their product,” she adds.

“Knowing the quality of the product and the realistic likeness to real timber [was key],” she adds. “Particularly for the laminates we used at Smeg and the big sheet sizes, which were really good because we’re creating these really big displays. Having minimal join lines was very important.”

The project brief

The overall intent of the project was to create an immersive brand environment reflecting Smeg’s global identity, while also resonating locally. Within this, Smeg had a couple of key messages to convey, says Vulic. One was emphasising Smeg’s Italian heritage, which is embedded in the brand’s origins and design language. Alongside this, the company was keen to highlight its ongoing focus on innovation, technology and sustainability.

Alongside this heritage, however, the company was keen to stress that it remains a very modern and technology-driven innovator, with sustainability at the forefront of its thinking.

Having these two pillars in mind directed the guidelines for the design. “Rather than creating a typical showroom with rows and rows of products, we really wanted to create more of an experience centre,” says Vulic. “So customers come in and engage with a kitchen and imagine it in their own home. The kitchen would look like a real kitchen but it would be a product display.”

Working with heritage

A sensitive approach to site was imperative with the project due to the Woolstores’ heritage constraints, but also Smeg’s appreciation of the location. “Smeg chose the building specifically because of its beautiful heritage nature,” says Vulic, adding that this also influenced the design decisions.

“Normally we would hide columns and perhaps encase them, but here we really celebrated them. The ceiling was also left exposed in key communal areas, particularly at the entry and along main thoroughfare zones, reinforcing the character and scale of the original building.”

Part of X+O’s adherence to sustainability led to looking at the project through a reduce/reuse/recycle lens. “We work with an amazing artist to repurpose some of the elements from the defit of the previous tenant in the space,” explains Vulic. “So when we tore down some of the partitions, we crushed up the glass. We also crushed up some of the timber screens and Smeg’s paper and polystyrene packaging, which would have been discarded and sent to landfill.”

The materials were then added to waste wool by the artist in question – Ky Devitiis – to create an artwork inspired by the idea of swirling wool, in a nod to the building’s origins.

Some of the timber was also repurposed into custom-built statement piece for the showroom – an attention-grabbing 16-seater dining table.

Individual kitchens

Each kitchen display in the Smeg showroom experience centre has been given its own material palette to reflect and enhance the specific product range being showcased.

The displays include the DSN (Dolce Stil Novo) kitchen, focusing on the most luxurious and prestigious products in the Smeg range; the Linea kitchen, featuring modern and minimalist pieces with a mirror-like reflection; Victoria, with a vintage aesthetic; and Commercial, designed for developers and communicating luxury.

The most popular range of Smeg products, however, sit in the Classic kitchen display. Here, the products appeal to a wide demographic due to their timeless simplicity. And one of the key materials used was ForestOne’s Light Vicenza Oak by EGGER.

How EGGER complements the Smeg products

When it came to the materiality that would suit each Smeg aesthetic line, the aim was for a clean, minimal and refined appeal. “Travertine was introduced early as a key material, referencing the brand’s Italian heritage. This was paired with a restrained palette to allow the products themselves to remain the focal point, while still delivering warmth and tactility,” says Vulic.

An understated approach allowed the Smeg product to always take the focus, so warm tones and sustainable materials including stone, timber and refined decors were the preferred products.

And this is where ForestOne’s EGGER Light Vicenza Oak came in – used as the primary palette to create the ‘canvas’ for the experience centre, says Vulic. “Aesthetically, the Light Vicenza Oak was a perfect choice because it’s warm, it’s neutral. That whole entrance area is like an immersion zone or shopfront window. It has all the colourful small domestic appliances, all the toasters, all the kettles, all of the coffee machines that everyone’s familiar with, the colourful fridges, through to the Dolce and Gabbana patented ovens and cooktops. It’s a real mix of different styles. And the Light Vicenza Oak is just such a beautiful neutral kind of product that it allows the Smeg range to really sing.”

Added to the decor’s aesthetic appeal are its qualities of consistency, durability and refined finishing, says Vulic. “Light Vicenza Oak enabled a cohesive material language across multiple zones, while maintaining the high-end, residential aesthetic required for each display environment.

“It tied all of the unique aesthetics together and blended well with various colours and textures, creating the perfect canvas for the experience centre. The textural imprint creates the impression of real timber, with the sustainability benefits and ultimate durability.

“Sustainability is a key priority for X+O and Smeg, so ForestOne was a natural choice. Durability, cleanability and longevity were key considerations, particularly in high-touch areas such as the demo kitchen and interactive displays. All of the sustainability metrics, including the low embodied carbon, high recycled content including post-consumer waste, the chipwood base being wood-based, low emissions and effective manufacturing systems were key decisions in selecting ForestOne and EGGER as the main base material in the experience centre,” concludes Vulic.

All photography: Rohan Venn.

Learn more about ForestOne’s Light Vicenza Oak by EGGER.