Arney Road

The period villa in Remuera was overhauled over the course of almost two years, with the kitchen being one of the last spaces to be installed. Although the last in, it was one of the first areas the client thought about for her new and improved home.   The vision for this kitchen renovation was to create an integrated contemporary box using a variety of texturual elememts, to juxtapose against an original and traditional ‘white space’. As a true entertaining area, the kitchen acts as the central hub within the surrounding social space of the open dining and casual living. It was created so the cook could feel a part of each surrounding space, looking out in a teppanyaki style cooking environment. For the ensuite, the brief was an image of a room wrapped in silk chinoiserie wallpaper. We decided to reinterpret this into a full wall feature, hand painted, which would set the whole mood for room; a luxurious escape with an tranquil atmosphere. Architects Salmod Reid were passionate about keeping as much of the original features of the home and restoring, so all the original villa ceilings were kept, the doors restored and varnished. An art deco light was taken from another room in the house, refurbished and reused in the ensuite. The timber floors were also original, but stained to create a richer feel.