Background

• Professional semi-retired couple
• 2 boys late teens at boarding school
• 1 daughter at high school that lives at home and also enjoys working in the kitchen
• 2 cats

This was a renovation for a semi-retired professional couple new to Queenstown.

The pair loved their new home – it was beautiful but needed updating to become their own.

The owners wanted a ‘wow’ factor and wanted us to design something unique for their home.

One owner enjoys cooking, preserving and entertaining for family, so wanted the space to be part of the wider room.

She wanted the hob on the island so she could chat and talk to friends while cooking.

Good food storage was very important as was having somewhere nice for a wine cabinet that was discrete.

They didn’t like the existing tiles and felt the kitchen was too small with limited storage – the same owner also wanted to display some of her antique pieces.

The design

Being a renovation, the kitchen was in a difficult space – having the existing schist stone columns to work around and a long narrow room, with a large fireplace in close proximity to the island.

As the kitchen was a huge part of the family’s social time, I decided to extend it past the sliding door and incorporate this into the sitting area adjacent.

The rustic round feature table on the end of the island gives relief to the long narrow feel of the room, paying homage to the rich gold-mining history of the Central Otago region with the riveted steel base and aged timber top.

This creates a cosy talking space for family, that looks out to the vegetable and herb garden that was incorporated just outside for fresh produce.

The kitchen was continued along this wall to create a discrete bar with integrated Sub-zero wine fridges behind pocket doors.

This also allowed an area for the owner to display her beautiful antique pieces.

The island has the induction hob included for the social aspect.

I used the pipe style extractors to minimise the obstruction of the mountain views and to echo the style of the round rustic feature table.

An integrated pop-up electrical switch was located beside the hob so the owner could use appliances while still being part of the conversation.

Located behind this area are the full size integrated Sub-zero fridge, freezer and pantry – so everything is at her fingertips.

The pantry was behind a dated cavity slider, so I created interest by putting in a custom steel door which complements the steel base of the feature table and gives a glimpse into the lovely natural texture of the tiles and custom timber shelves for preserves to be stored on.

We also added a special custom drawer to fit cat food for the owners’ cats.

By incorporating materials that complement nature; travertine tiles, beautiful Neolith porcelain reminiscent of jade, natural timbers and steel, I have created a cohesive, warm, homely and functional room the family loves.