Last year we undertook a renovation project for lovely clients who had bought a beachside apartment, badly in need of a freshen up. The apartment was to be their home-away-from-home when they were in Napier, so they wanted it to be comfortable and low maintenance, but also smart and sophisticated.

We updated the entire base layer of the apartment - new tiles, new carpet, new paint colour throughout, and new window treatments - as well as sourcing and purchasing a range of new furniture.

In the entrance we added wallpaper and powder coated the stair balustrade matt black for a sharper, more contemporary look. White wooden shutters half way up replaced the old venetian blinds, letting light and the view in whilst still allowing our clients privacy. The clean lines of the new console compliments everything around it.

The first thing you see once you reach the top of the stairs is the kitchen which sits between the living and dining spaces in the large open plan room. The original kitchen was quite dated, painted in a marine blue and featuring a curved island with a pole right through the centre of the bench.

The first thing we did was to meet with our builder, Paul Davidson of Bay Carpenters, and get an engineer in to see if we could remove the pole. as it was going to seriously compromise whatever we designed for the new kitchen. We were so happy (that’s an understatement) when we were told it could be done. It required a steel beam added in the ceiling which we had drawn up and submitted to council by our friend, Andrew Mitchener of Mitchener Architecture & Design.

Our joiners, Sydaz, built the new kitchen for us. We kept the lines clean and contemporary and used a simple but striking material and colour palette. The granite bench top continued up the wall as the splash back behind the cooktop. We carried the floor tiles out beyond the island in both directions to define the kitchen area.

How good does that look without the pole running through the centre?!

With a neutral coloured carpet replacing the old blue carpet, we then used one of our favourite Armadillo&Co rugs to ground the new dining table and zone the dining area. A mirror on the back wall replaced the artwork to reflect the stunning ocean view.

We removed the low nib wall between the dining area and the area under the window, at the top of the stairs, to create a sense of airiness and space.

The built-in desk was removed and we had a sofa custom made for the nook - the perfect spot to tuck yourself away with a good book. Lastly we replaced the roman blind with the same wood shutters we installed in the stairway.

When you have an open plan living space it’s important to have a consistent colour palette for a sense of calm and cohesiveness. The black dining table relates to the black oak kitchen cabinetry; the smokey table top echoes the pendant lights; we kept the soft furnishing light and neutral and added accents of golden mustard.

The bathroom required a total overhaul. We ripped everything out and started again with a new layout. Where the shower was previously we installed a custom made vanity, designed by us and made by Sydaz.

We chose to tile the entire bathroom, floor to ceiling, in the same tiles for a clean, contemporary feel. The neutral coloured tiles, that feature a lovely subtle texture, are also used on the floor in the entrance and kitchen to continue that sense of cohesiveness. The vanity features the same wood we used in the kitchen island, and the same granite on the bench top. Accents of black look smart and add a touch of depth to the space.

The decision was made to remove the small bathtub (there is a bath in a downstairs bathroom), and we opted instead for a large walk-in shower. We worked with our friend, Hayden Borrie, who custom made the black steel shower frame for us. Because the bathroom style is so clean and simple, everything had to be just right and the black shower frame added the weight and the ‘wow’ that we felt was needed in that corner.

Thank you so much to our lovely clients for allowing us to share their home with you all. If you have a renovation or new build project in your near future, why not get in touch with us to see if we could be of help to you.