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Whitford Classic in Copper

A dramatically transformed kitchen befitting of its grand French-country architecture.
A dramatically transformed kitchen befitting of its grand French-country architecture.
About
Home/Projects/Residential/Renovations and Extensions/Renovations

Building style
Classic

Once a dark and awkward medley of 'boxes', we helped complete the owners' dream of an elegant, beautifully formed kitchen. Cabinetry details are traditionally inspired while elements are composed for high functionality, effortless flow, longevity and connected family living.
A key desired wish-list from the homeowner included a hand-hammered copper apron sink from Mexico. Its rich texture and warm glow is a celebrated feature of the kitchen. We made the island a little taller again to compensate for the extra deep bowls and give the taller home-chef a comfortable work space.
To echo the feature copper sink the clients especially loved, we wrapped a custom-welded then studded copper band to a bespoke rangehood canopy. It's form is designed to gently rise between two arched windows with a tapered canopy above reminiscent of styles found in French castles. Desiring a scullery, walls were rearranged borrowing from a pool room behind. Specifying thin sliding-doors optimises seamless flow into the hidden 'room'. Our tiling layout plan ensured no awkwardly small tiles bothered the eye.
By shifting the Pool Room door for better logical flow from the entrance, a Drinks Bar could be incorporated. With plenty of dedicated storage for the entertaining owners' wine, spirits and glasses, guests can mingle and self-serve away from the busy kitchen space.
A bit of fun! Awaiting the import of the copper sink from Mexico, I realised materials and products within the kitchen were from most continents!
It was hard for our client to find anything good about the old kitchen before - it didn't match the home's value, it was dark, of incoherent (no) style, low quality fittings (held together by cable ties and duct tape), lacked storage, awkward to reach cupboards, cluttered, hard to clean, water damaged (due to bad detailing), and item arrangement either frustratingly too close (bins & sink-worker in corner) or too far away (sink to fridge relationship). They wanted to make the new design feel intentional - as if it had been there from the start. Her comment at completion: “It’s all so easy to keep clean now. I couldn’t be bothered with the old kitchen, no matter what you did it still didn’t look good.”

About the
Professional

Toni Roberts CKDNZ BArch is an award-winning independent kitchen designer who works directly with homeowners to establish a design that performs and looks fantastic. With in-depth know-how about materials and their properties and an architectural eye for detail, the design solution is made to last both in durability and style-wise.

Toni’s 25+ years design management expertise means the logistics run to plan, with frustrations and costly mistakes avoided. She is said to have an intuitive and pragmatic understanding of how spaces work for the people who use them. This, combined with her architectural training, has imparted the skills to help many homeowners achieve their very own unique and satisfying new kitchen: experiencing the day to day enjoyment of living in and around their kitchen space.

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Kitchen Architecture
Kitchen Architecture

Interior Designers