Raising the Bar

The client approached us with the brief of creating an enjoyable living space for their holiday home; a seaside apartment with outstanding views of Kaiteriteri. Their vision included an aesthetically pleasing design that seamlessly combines open-plan living and functional storage while connecting with the surrounding landscape.

One of our initial challenges was the flow between the bar and kitchen. The original architectural plan had the bar divided by a GIB wall. We wanted to create connection and flow between to the two zones and decided to line the wall in the feature woodgrain Melteca. In doing this, we created flow between the two spaces and the illusion of more width to the compact kitchen.

Creating a functional and spacious environment in this limited space required innovative planning. We incorporated a Blum space tower to maximise the storage. By offsetting the hob, we were able to provide ample bench space for the prep zone, leaving a clear survey on the island.

This build faced technical and site challenges, requiring careful planning and collaboration with builders and sub-contractors. One challenge was the cladding of the connection wall between the back kitchen wall and dining room buffet and shelving, which required accurate templating and fixing points. Another challenge was installing the kitchen on the 3rd floor, necessitating lifting cabinets onto the balcony with a crane and careful planning for efficient installation.

Strong vertical lines draw the eye to the overweight luxury of the room which is complimented with the use of vertically stacked tiles. Handle-less drawer pulls create shadow lines adding further dimension to the sleek lines of the space.

In terms of lighting, the kitchen is bathed in natural sunlight and has a perfect balance of cool and warm tones providing a lovely space to work and relax in. The overall design and use of hardware maximises the lighting, blending architecture and environment seamlessly.

This design celebrates the connection to landscape of the golden Kaiteriteri sand. The strong tones reflected in the overall composition of the kitchen and bar are perfectly complimented by the stunning scenery and natural lighting of this gorgeous beach getaway.