Kitchen means business

A Wānaka family gets a dark kitchen that is full of personality. Kim Dungey reports.

A "soft grunge aesthetic" was the inspiration for this award-winning kitchen in Wanaka.

"Think oversized, baggy, worn jeans, worn with black shoes and dressed up with gold earrings," its designer, Melanie Craig, says.

"Translate this into the world of designer kitchens and you get this — matt-black benchtops, a khaki-green splashback, the texture of a matt-black board and batten pantry unit, and the solid presence of steel that yells, ‘I mean business’."

The Wanaka house, designed by Sebastiano Broadhead and built by Archi Build Ltd, won a gold award and the kitchen excellence award in the Southern Registered Master Builders House of the Year competition. It was the first time Archi Build, owned by Tom and Kelly Dupont, had entered.

The three-bedroom house with pale timber cladding features interesting angles and an internal courtyard that provides light as well as shelter from the wind. Timber has been used throughout — in the kitchen bench and shelving, a feature wall in the living area and painted tongue-and-groove walls in the bedrooms.

While the owners made most of the interior design decisions, the kitchen was Craig’s responsibility.

One of the first decisions was to position the cooktop at the front of the kitchen, in the island, and the sink along one side, she explains. This created two work areas, spreading out tasks in a kitchen that is often used by more than one person at a time.

The raised ovens offer improved ergonomics but instead of there being cabinetry above, there are tiles that serve as a landing spot for hot dishes.

Imported from Japan, the green finger tiles provide sheen in a kitchen that is otherwise dominated by matt finishes.

The materials include MDF board and batten, painted in a matt-black finish, that features on the pantry and the front of the island. The low-pressure laminate used on the base cabinets is also dark but with hints of gold.

The kitchen, manufactured by Leading Edge Joinery, of Gore, showcased exceptional design and quality craftsmanship, the House of the Year judges said. The practical layout offered a high degree of functionality, while the selection of materials demonstrated a clever balance between warmth and durability.