Retiring southern designer goes out on a high

Invercargill kitchen designer Margaret Young is retiring but last night she went out on a high, winning four categories at the national kitchen and bathroom awards.

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Young’s kitchen for a church conversion in Invercargill won the visual impact award and the southern chapter recognition award at the National Kitchen and Bathroom Association (NKBA) awards in Auckland.

She also won a distinction award and a gold award for a country kitchen in the Invercargill area.

The church conversion was completed closely with the homeowner, who aimed to build the kitchen himself by attending joinery night classes. The judges said it provided a balance of form and scale within a romantic and dramatic space.

"It’s an outstanding symmetrical design with clever use of sliding doors to hide pipework. The black benchtops work wonderfully with the steel."

The country kitchen was designed for a homeowner that Young described as a combination of Nigella Lawson and Mary Berry. She wanted a generous-sized kitchen with a very specific scullery layout and a large island workspace.

Emma Morris of Eterno Design in Christchurch and Nicola Manning of NM Design in Auckland also won awards for their work on projects in Queenstown and Central Otago.