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!