Lee Hardcastle is cooking up a storm with kitchen designs for the young at heart.

Hardcastle, who has been in the cabinet making and design business for 13 years, has carved himself a solid niche in the budget-conscious market where clients generally are aged between 25 and 35 and want something fresh and cheerful for their first home or unit.

“Generally, they don’t have a lot to spend, but what they do have they want to use wisely,” Hardcastle, of Enigma Interiors at Capalaba in Brisbane’s southeast, says.

“They don’t have $30,000 to spend on granite benchtops with 2-pak cupboard doors.  They may have $10,000 or less and want something trendy, modern and lively.  We can do a lot with that.  We tend to use alternative types of materials, good quality but cheaper in price.”

His specialty is custom-designing features such as back-lit display shelves, box-like overhead cupboards and novel storage areas, pictured.  Drawers are a favourite.  “They’re more useful than cupboards,” he says.

“Instead of opening two doors and leaning into a cupboard, a drawer allows you to easily slide a shelf out in front of you and gain greater access and more storage capacity.”

His creative designs have earned Hardcastle and his company a string of Housing Industry Association awards over the years, including Queensland Kitchen Designer of the Year last year (he’s now in the running for the national title) and 2001 Kitchen Project of the Year for southeast Queensland.

He has done work from Gladstone to Melbourne and from beach houses to luxury riverfront homes, each with an individual flavour.  Bold colours are a popular choice but contemporary designs in monochromatic tones can be equally dramatic and appealing, Hardcastle says.

Enigma Interiors, Hardcastle’s company of the past five years, also constructs commercial fitouts, reception areas, cafes, bars, furnishings such as coffee tables and bedside cabinets and even home renovations.