Goldsmith | Before + Afters

March 23, 2022

We recently finished an amazing kitchen/dining room project. Despite having to deal with lockdowns, supply delays and shortages, it was a fantastic project to work on. It helped that our clients are two of the loveliest people, and we had a great team helping us create our vision.

Our clients have a beautiful architecturally designed home and the kitchen was still in pretty great condition, even after 17 years. But they were ready for a re-fresh and more storage was on the wishlist.

The original kitchen was a U-shape tucked into one end of the room with the dining table taking up a large part of the open-plan space. They have a magnificent view over Napier on the opposite side of the room and the first thing we wanted to do was to capitalise on that by spinning the kitchen around to face the view, also giving our clients a more spacious kitchen to work in.

Because we were proposing quite a radical change to the layout, it was helpful to show our clients 3D renders so they could clearly see our vision, and there was no guesswork involved. It’s also a very important part of our process as it’s a lot easier (and cheaper) to make changes to the renders rather than making physical changes once construction has started. You can see more of our renders here.

Because the kitchen was the first space you see as you enter this open plan living area we wanted the joinery to feel like built-in furniture. When the teak veneer that we wanted to use wasn’t available our joiner, Kakapo Joinery, took an oak veneer and created a series of test pieces with different stains to create the richness we were after for the back lineup. The island has a black stain and we fluted this to add subtle texture.

Because there are a lot of architectural details in the home we wanted to keep aspects of the design clean and simple so we opted for handleless, push-to-open drawers and cupboards. The large pantry required handles, though, as it has pocket doors that can be opened and pushed right in so as not to interrupt flow in the kitchen. So we asked Kakapo Joinery to create gorgeous handles from solid oak that ran the entire height of the pantry for an inconspicuous solution.

In the original design the dining room took up a lot more floor space. Our kitchen design ate into that floor space quite considerable and so required a clever solution.

The hutch dresser could go as the large new pantry and multitude of wide, deep drawers provided ample storage. We then gained valuable space by designing a dining banquette along the back two walls, flowing seamlessly onto the kitchen cabinetry. A new, custom made table could then tuck right up against the banquette.

As we progressed with the dining area we asked Robin from Kakapo Joinery to make a dummy table top to try in-situ on the base so we could get the size and scale just right. Again, it’s more cost effective to make a change to the ply ‘dummy’ top than the real oak top.

Dael (below) is trying it out for size. Note: she is sitting on a cushion to make sure she’s getting a more accurate feel for the finished design. How many cafes have you been to where the bench seating feels too high for the table? That’s because it seems to be a common mistake to make the bench the full height not taking into account the cushion or squab. We use a 100mm thick foam in our squabs, so we need to make the base of our banquettes 100mm shorter.

One of the architectural details of the home was a shelf that ran along the back of the room. When it came to our banquette design we were able to run the back support directly under this so that the shelf could still be used. The upholstery was made by the amazing team of Martin & Ivan and is a gorgeous faux leather.

Another of the home’s architectural features was a lot of angles with different levels and depths. We wanted to simplify this slightly and so the back cabinetry hides a lot of that with a bulkhead above.

We didn’t want to completely loose the subtle angle of the back wall, but we were also trying to avoid any further sharp angles. So Kakapo Joinery created a really beautiful subtle curve in the lower cabinetry, which you can see in the progress image below. In fact all of the curves in our design were introduced to contrast and soften the various angles in the architecture.

We chose to use Corian® as the benchtop material for a number of reasons. We loved the gorgeous organic swirling pattern in caramel and cream tones. It’s a great product to use on curves, and it offers nearly seamless joins.

With the focus on the kitchen being the back lineup in the warm teak-stained oak, we wanted the overhead cupboards (which include a hidden powerpack) to sit quietly. By painting them the same white as the walls they don’t demand too much attention.

The finger tiles are Japanese inspired and we love the repetition of texture and clean vertical lines.

A couple of hidden features we love in the kitchen design, along with the pantry pocket doors, are the interior of the drawers and cupboards which we made black instead of the usual white for an elevated finish. And the hidden corner cupboards on the island. Check out our Instagram Story highlights to see more.

To our clients… thank you so much for allowing us to share these photos and our journey. But most of all for being fabulous clients and trusting us even when we pushed you out of your comfort zone. We recently learnt that the feature that had most worried our client was the built-in banquette, but she trusted our design and bravely went there! Now (as we always find) the part she was most worried about is one of her favourite things. May all our future clients be as brave and trusting :)

Dael's Kitchen, Dining, Living | Before & Afters

May 25, 2020

Dael and Lee bought their two-storey home in a great location, close to their girls’ school and with a lovely back aspect out over a tree-filled valley. Dael describes it as a “head” decision, not one made from the heart. She knew the location, size and price point was right for them. The house itself, however, was in need of some work, particularly in changing the layout and flow to make it more functional for their family. The main living area was broken up into the kitchen, a small dining room tucked in between two walls, a large laundry and utility space, and a living room with a separate adjacent sunroom.

You can see how the original kitchen (below) had the breakfast bar facing the living room, but Dael felt like it was encroaching into the living space. She wanted to pivot the kitchen towards the dining area and the outdoors. So the entire kitchen was ripped out and a new galley style kitchen designed.

Dael chose her bench top about a year before when we were visiting the Archant showroom in Auckland. She fell in love with the beautiful porcelain material that looks like stone but has the flexibility to be able to put hot things onto it straight from your oven. She chose a marble look with warm gold veining and created a waterfall end so you can appreciate it’s beauty as you walk into the room, as well as from the living room.

By running the porcelain up the wall behind the cooktop, as well as on the bench top, it creates a clean, seamless look and shows off the beautiful, subtle pattern.

To bring some warmth into the kitchen Dael chose a gorgeous rich wood veneer for the back line up of cupboards. Some people mistakenly assume that wood veneer is an inferior product to solid wood, but we’re here to tell you that’s not the case. It’s environmentally kind - you get 32 veneer surfaces for every solid wood board. The thin (real) wood veneer surface is then glued onto a MDF panel, and because this is a stable substrate it produces a surface that is not prone to warp, split or move. And, the best and most interesting logs are cut into veneers.

The cupboard on the left is a tall pantry, and on the right the fridge is hidden behind another cupboard front for a seamless look, which is great in a small kitchen. Simple brass handles sit flush to the edge of the cupboards to continue the clean lines. A thin LED strip light below the overhead cupboards and under the breakfast bar adds a lovely glow washing down. The front of the breakfast bar is a blackened oak veneer to add a touch of weight to the room.

The new breakfast bar is now positioned in the spot Dael had previously put her dining table (below), taking advantage of the view outside.

The one thing that Dael’s husband, Lee, requested in the new kitchen was a tap that supplied them with hot, cold and boiling filtered water. It’s now something that Dael says she couldn’t do without. It means they don’t need a kettle anymore, and they both love the convenience of having boiling water on tap. But also not having the noise of a kettle in an open plan space has made a really positive difference.

There’s a clear division now between the kitchen and living room, even though it’s all open plan. You can see in the photo below how the barstools were actually on the carpet in the living room.

In the original layout there was a separate sunroom on the front of the living room. It was quite narrow and the family weren’t really using it. So the wall was taken down allowing not only more space, but also a lot more light in the room. The little French doors were kept and repurposed in the new dining room. The old carpet was taken up and the floors between the two living spaces levelled out before new carpet was laid.

Because the window faces the street, Dael installed a double track for her curtains. A semi-sheer curtain is pulled all of the time for privacy, but still lets in light; and in the evening the bottom curtain is pulled for warmth and blockout.

The previous owners had their dining table in the little nook (below) which is opposite the kitchen, and on the other side of the wall, that window led to a laundry and utility space.

Dael and Lee knocked down that wall and relocated the laundry to a large downstairs bathroom. The French doors from the sunroom were put on the old laundry space which is now used as a kitchen overflow cupboard where Dael keeps all her large appliances, platters and vases.

The old dining nook is the perfect spot for the buffet, and we love a good buffet for creating some styling moments!

Leaning art and mirrors rather than hanging them creates a relaxed vibe and allows you to move them around and change your look from time to time. If you’ve watched any of our videos you’ll know that we love trays for grouping and grounding smaller objects.

In this ‘before and after’ you can see the relationship between the different spaces, and how, by knocking out some walls and re-orientating the kitchen, the flow and usability is now so much better.

The final part of the downstairs renovation puzzle for Dael and Lee was the hallway that leads from the front door and bedrooms down to the kitchen, dining, and living rooms. The old carpet was ripped up and the floorboards polished, whilst the wooden steps were carpeted making them so much more quiet. Dael had her builder add battens for a board and batten effect on the walls creating some interest to an otherwise fairly plain space. The large artwork is by our friend and talented photographer Florence Charvin. The custom Armadillo&Co runner from The Ivy House leads you down to the stairway, which is wallpapered in a beautiful Arte paper. The finishing touch is the addition of the stunning lights by David Trubridge.

To summarise, Dael, Lee and their girls are now so much happier with their home. It’s amazing the effect good design and good flow can make on your everyday life!

Bluff Hill Kitchen, Laundry, Dining Nook & Entrance

January 15, 2020

At the end of 2019 we finished a renovation project that we had spent a good part of the year working on. Our clients, a young family of seven (dad and the two boys not pictured below), live in a beautiful big historic home on Napier hill. The house had amazing bones and character but was definitely in need of an update. Nicki and Scott hired us initially to design their kitchen, and when we realised there needed to be a lot of structural work we called in our friends at Architecture HDT.

As is common with houses of this era, there were a lot of smaller rooms, and the kitchen was tucked away at the back. With a busy household of five children, Nicki and Scott wanted to take out a wall to create a large open plan space so that there was a connection between the kitchen, dining and living rooms.

The windows above the old kitchen bench were replaced with French doors out to the courtyard and the kitchen was completely removed and a new one was placed perpendicular to the original one.

The floor plan below gives you an idea of the final layout, although it did change slightly. The main difference was the pushing out of the external wall beyond the end of the fridge to make room for a small day pantry. Nicki and Scott’s builder, Brendan Grant of Grant Property & Construction Ltd, worked tirelessly on the renovation throughout the year.

It’s normal for there to be a few tweaks and changes to our initial design, but on the whole the finished kitchen has stayed pretty true to it. We wanted the kitchen to have a classic feel to be in keeping with the traditional home, but with a modern, sleek twist. Navy and white are classic and timeless, and we were so thrilled that Nicki and Scott went with the herringbone floors. A patterned tile in the laundry/butlers pantry helps to zone it as a seperate space whilst still complementing the wooden floor.

So much time and thought went into the layout, storage and practicality of the kitchen. The huge island houses the dishwasher, rubbish bins, plenty of drawers and cupboard space as well as room at one end for barstools. At the other end the bench top waterfalls down creating a beautiful feature from the living and main dining area.

The butlers sink and tap are a nod to the traditional style of the house. We chose a brushed nickel finish for the taps and handles - timeless yet again and so elegant.

The day pantry is one of my favourite features. When closed it’s very discreet and the pocket doors open and slide back into the wall so as not to block the access into the laundry. It’s the perfect space for tea, coffee and breakfast foods.

We kept the top cabinetry handleless for a cleaner, less fussy look. All of the joinery is by Sydaz Joinery.

The wall between the old kitchen and the living room was removed to allow more space, more light and much better flow. Because the ceiling heights were different in these two areas, it was really important to keep the flooring consistent throughout. The old kitchen had cork tiles on the floor and trying to match the existing living room floor boards was near impossible. We are totally in love with the new herringbone flooring that replaced the old floors, so happy days!

Those of you who have followed us for a while will know we are big fans of dining nooks and banquette seating, and this corner next to the new kitchen was crying out for one. It’s used for casual dining, whereas a large formal dining table is being custom made to fit in between the kitchen and living room.

The laundry also has extra storage for kitchen overflow, like larger appliances. It’s essentially in the same position, but that’s the only similarity with the old laundry. The access to it has changed and we completely redesigned the layout and fitted it out with custom joinery, tiled the floor and splash back.

The entrance to this beautiful old house got a makeover too. The concrete shelf (below) was removed and the wall opposite the front door was extended. A gorgeous new window was fitted to let in more natural light and provide a view from the dining nook, and a large custom door replaced the old door.

The new wall is just waiting for a beautiful console and either a mirror or a large piece of art - the perfect welcome into this amazing home.

Your front door and entrance creates the first impression for your guests, so this newly renovated home needed a special entrance. The doorway was enlarged for a new, very smart custom door painted in glossy black. The brushed nickel hardware echoes the hardware in the kitchen and laundry, and new exterior wall lights continue the modern traditional theme. The front door step is a work-in-progress and will be looking fabulous very soon.

Thank you so much Nicki and Scott for allowing us to share your stunning home. We are so happy with the outcome and wish you many happy times in the new space.