Kitchen Studio Design Award 2019
– Creative Excellence
Highly Commended
Designer – Wai Mihinui – Kitchen Studio Wellington
This kitchen design also won…
At the NKBA 2019 Excellence in Design Awards, Wai took home two well deserved awards for this beautiful kitchen design.
Winning Kitchen Distinction under $25k and Wellington Chapter Recognition Kitchen.
DESIGN BRIEF
An eye catching WOW kitchen that nods to the mid-century retro style the couple adores, was top priority for my clients, with budget coming in a close second. The couple loved the architectural quirks of their 1960’s home – arched doorways and peep hole openings – which meant we needed to work within the existing space. Simple, uncomplicated storage solutions is what was asked for as the budget was to be spent on achieving visual impact.
Client Requirements:
- Keep costs low whilst achieving visual impact
- Provide options for displaying dinner ware and objects
- To work within the existing space of the kitchen
- Take modern mid-century retro aesthetic into the kitchen design and finishes
- Ensure the kitchen felt modern, clean and balanced
- Include a coffee station & butlers sink
- Use all existing appliances
Design Solutions:
- The kitchen was big, by keeping the services where they were, meant we would keep trade costs as low as possible.
- Opted for a black and timber colour palette referencing the mid-century retro aesthetics. Melamine and Laminate finishes were selected due to being budget conscious and black overlay pull handles help to reduce finger marking on the black melamine doors but still achieved the clean look the clients loved.
- Designed a custom open shelving décor unit for cups and crockery above the coffee nook. The full depth wall units above hug the window and maintain a clean line meeting the depth of the pantry. Timber surround detail broke up all of the black and created interest.
- Open shelving around the built in range hood created an interesting view through the dining room peep hole, linked the ‘kitchen’ design to the coffee nook design and visually makes the closed off kitchen feel bigger by revealing more wall space.
- No fuss storage solutions like a corner cupboard and traditional pantry were storage compromises due to budget.