Award

Oct 17, 2023

There are six Australasian finalists in the kitchen section of the prestigious London-based SBID International Design Awards, all from New Zealand designers. And they include the most innovative kitchen we have seen in a long time – an entire kitchen within a single island.

There are no perimeter or overhead cabinets, no pantry or refrigerator along the wall. There’s just the island, which plays a dozen roles.

Designer Damian Hannah of German Kitchens says he was asked to design a bespoke kitchen in a very small home with limited available space. He found the perfect solution for the compromised location and desired aesthetic by designing the whole kitchen within an island.

“Incorporating all the required appliances, kitchen essentials and storage solutions, the result is a classic take on a commercial kitchen,” he says. “The meal becomes the visual and functional heart of the kitchen, and the circular flow allows chefs to congregate in the same area, thus improving communication and socialising with the guests.”

Look carefully, and you will see the oven, cooktop, downdraft, sink, dishwasher, fridge, freezer, bins, and storage for foods, cooking and serving items.

Hannah also has another Wellington kitchen in the SBID finals – the White House project (this house has won an NZIA Wellington Housing Award and was also a regional Master Builders winner last weekend). As the name suggests, this is an all-white kitchen where the client wanted the design features to be the focus rather than the colour.

“It had to be functional and aesthetically pleasing while being responsive to the environment,” Hannah says. “But most of all, it had to be eye-catchingly beautiful to sit amongst the other unique design elements.”

Zen Aesthetic by Marianne Gailer of Kitchens By Design in Auckland is another finalist.

This kitchen, part of a villa renovation in Devonport, was designed for a couple and their 13-year-old daughter who like to prepare meals together. They wanted something “special and different, with the wow factor”.

The kitchen needed to be practical and clean, with plenty of storage, including a second small fridge for Japanese ingredients.

Gailer says she drew on the Japanese theme by taking in the family’s surrounding furniture and art. “The colours of the leathered Titanium granite started my colour scheme. The mitred island ‘block’ provides the required bench space and sits in proportion to the open-plan living.”

Scandavian Touch by Kitchen Story has also made the SBID award finals. This contemporary kitchen was designed for a semi-retired couple who had recently purchased their own home in St Heliers, Auckland and decided to renovate.

Kitchen Story says the objective was to transform a 30-year-old kitchen into a brighter, more contemporary space with an improved working triangle and excellent storage.

“The clients wanted a family-friendly, functional kitchen with a clean, modern vibe and a Scandinavian-inspired feel. The clients requested a timeless, neutral palette, employing high contrast with accents of warm wood tones.”

Dark and light timber veneers were teamed with a beautiful Titanium Gold granite with a leathered finish. For visual continuity, similar materials were carried through to an integrated bookcase and TV unit.

Kitchen Architecture is another finalist with Artistic Vibe, a large “statement” kitchen in a renovated ‘50s house on the cliff edge in Auckland.

The company says, with rooms full of colourful sculptures, luxurious artworks and a love for designers like Versace and Louis Vuitton, the homeowners wanted an artistic design that was quirky and “out there” to inspire their everyday cooking and entertaining.

“This kitchen delivers a bold and rich yet sophisticated aesthetic, with confident blocks of interwoven playful quartzites designed to delight. Through a strong functional layout, elements of surprise and impeccable detailing the design celebrates its own luxurious and unique personality.”

And the sixth kitchen is last year’s NKBA Supreme Kitchen of the Year by designer Natalie Du Bois of Du Bois Design. The Whanganui Kitchen and Bathrooms project, for a 562m² house, is also shortlisted for its bathrooms by the same designer.

The kitchen, designed for a family of five, is large and modern, with an industrial aesthetic. It has a dedicated bar for entertaining, and a butler’s pantry.

Du Bois selected a mix of materials to create the industrial look. Concrete is a forerunner, with plastered concrete featuring on the walls. The island has a rugged concrete Caesarstone island benchtop, and there are strips in various sizes wrapped around the back and sides of the island.

“This effect was designed to create a visually interesting central focus to the room,” Du Bois says.

The laundry and five bathrooms continue the industrial theme.

Natalie Du Bois also has a bathroom that’s a finalist in the SBID Resident Finalist up to £50,000 category. Her project, titled Rocking it in Kohimarama is a guest bathroom redesigned to create a more intimate and moody space.

Du Bois achieved this with well considered product selections and careful planning which includes a multitude of textural layers creating an enchanting space for them and their guests to enjoy.

This bathroom was the NKBA Supreme Bathroom Award winner last year.

The public has been invited to vote for the SBID finalists on this website.