40 Year Family Kitchen

Lua grew up in this Mangere house, which has been in her family for 40 years. She and her husband bought it from her mother to renovate and sell, then decided to stay. The structure was solid. The problem was a kitchen closed off from dining and living, in a home where family and friends gather all the time. Lua already had a sketch and some reference images. Our designer Cici Zuo refined them to fit the actual room rather than starting over, and the finished kitchen is very close to that first drawing. We widened the opening into the living area and added steps down to the lounge. One run of light oak-look laminate now goes through kitchen, dining and hallway, and the dining area is painted to match the living room, so the three spaces work as one. Hard-wearing white Melteca doors with a recessed handle profile keep the cabinetry plain. The contrast comes from black gloss bevel tiles behind the cooktop, set against white Carrara-look tiles everywhere else. Because the gloss reflects light, the compact kitchen feels bigger. The island was extended to seat a breakfast bar. The work ran during Auckland's lockdown restrictions with the family still living at home, so we scheduled one trade at a time and they never overlapped. Opening widened from kitchen to living, with new steps down into the lounge Handleless white Melteca cabinetry on Blum hinges and Hafele soft-close runners 30mm matte engineered stone benchtop and extended island with seating Black gloss and white Carrara-look 100x300 bevel tile splashback Four timber-veneer floating shelves Five-burner gas hob with rangehood ducted outside Re-wire with LED downlights, levelled floor and continuous laminate Cici Zuo designed the kitchen and kept Lua informed on every trade booking. Completed December 2021. Full case study: Contemporary Kitchen Renovation in Mangere