This city apartment gets a new look with a galley kitchen in PureCoat and CustomCoat from Bates Surfaces.

For designers Yellowfox and their client, refurbishing the kitchen in an inner-city Auckland apartment required a seamless blend of looks, form and function.

‘The focus was on practicality within a compact space,’ says Yellowfox’s Micaela Wynne, ‘but we also wanted it to look great, with a finish that blended with the other décor, and reflected light in and around the living room for a greater feeling of space. PureCoat in Milk was a durable and attractive solution.’

A high-end finish at a good price point

PureCoat’s UV-cured finish delivers pure high-end colour that is resistant to stains and fading, contains anti-bacterial properties, and offers a much higher resistance to scratching than traditional paint finishes.

With a durable New Zealand-made MDF substrate, it allows for a variety of details, including custom edging.

‘The designers wanted shark-nose edging, which came out very well,’ says Azuriah Arivazhagan, project manager for fabricators Central Joinery. ‘With the PureCoat edge tape, it was easy for us to get a really good finish.’

A reflective surface increases the sense of space

Chosen to complement the warm-toned Oak herringbone vinyl flooring, the PureCoat Milk double-sided Mirror Gloss panels brought a brightness to the kitchen surfaces which benefits the compact living space.

‘In small spaces, you want to go lighter in tone,’ says Micaela. ‘The gloss finish was an added bonus, making the apartment feel lighter, brighter and bigger, and the Milk colourway is a creamy tone that works beautifully with the flooring and room textiles.’

The recessed shark-nose edging pulls creates a seamless look, with clean drawer fronts that are easy to pull open, and soft-close runners. ‘We also integrated accessible Häfele hardware,’ says Azuriah. ‘It’s a pull-out system that is user-friendly for the mature client by making high shelves fully accessible.’

Custom splashback in large format panels

For the splashback, a CustomCoat finish on fibre cement board created a stylish alternative to tiles or glass.

‘CustomCoat gives you the freedom to achieve any look you want. It’s a flat surface with no grout lines, so it’s easy to wipe down and maintain. And it’s FR 1, making it ideal for use behind stovetops,’ says Micaela. ‘The client selected the graphic image that Bates Surfaces applied to the board, and it works superbly with the rest of the design.’

CanvasCoat offers an excellent alternative to full-size porcelain tiles. Easy to cut, it ensures a straightforward, dust-free installation.

Project credits

Designer: Yellowfox

Builder: Central Joinery

Photos: Jono Parker

Text: Folio