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.

Napier Hill Home Renovation

May 9, 2019

We’ve recently finished working with a fabulous client, helping her renovate her home on Napier Hill. Rachael had moved to Hawke’s Bay from Wellington with her two young children and bought a beautiful old character home. It had great bones and stunning views over the hill and out to sea, but the layout wasn’t quite right and the interiors were a bit tired. After working with Citrus Studio Architecture on the plan, Rachael hired local firm Davcon Construction to complete the renovation. It was Davcon director, Julian Davis, who recommended Rachael talk to us about her kitchen design. Jules knew we’d be able to guide her through all the tricky decisions regarding colours, bench tops, cabinet style, handles etc.

The old kitchen was completely removed and this space (above) has now been turned into a media room for games and movie watching. Walls came down and moved to create a much better flow and layout throughout the house, and the kitchen moved over into the old dining room.

After putting the design concept together for Rachael’s kitchen, we worked closely with our joiners, Sydaz, to bring the design to a reality. We’ve developed a great working relationship with the Sydaz team, so it was a really fun project to work on. Both Davcon and Sydaz have exceptional workmanship, it was amazing to watch both teams help bring our design to life.

Our initial idea was to have a beautiful soft sage green on the bottom cabinets, but to achieve this look with the cabinets painted in a two pot polyurethane was a slightly more expensive option. In the end we opted for a more cost-effective thermoform finish in textured limestone, which is essentially a soft white. We then put a beautiful light grey with a hint of green on the walls to bring in some tone while still keeping the space calm, light and airy.

We’re all in love with the bench top we chose. It’s an engineered stone with a textured matt finish. It features a white background with velvety grey swirls and smaller specks of dark grey. Dael took Rachael out to the Archant warehouse in Hastings where they could view the actual slab of stone. This enables our clients a much better idea of how their bench will look, although we always start by showing them a small sample square. Carrying the stone up the wall as an up-stand was the finishing touch - we love it.

You can see from the progress shot (below) that we put a pull-out pantry and integrated fridge along the wall to the right of the main kitchen. There was nothing we can do with that wall in-between, as behind that is the powder room. Positioning the kitchen island long ways helped to connect everything…

But what really succeeded to connect and ‘zone’ the kitchen area was the wall panelling we asked Davcon to create. It absolutely worked with the style of the home, and wrapping it along the wall between the two pantries, and over on the opposite wall, clearly marked the kitchen area from the adjoining dining area.

The media room, where the old kitchen used to be, is off the kitchen, and we love the sneaky peek of the deep blue walls against the soft grey/green walls in front.

media room re-gibbed and ready for it’s transformation.

The entrance, kitchen and dining room have had new flooring put down. Rachael came home from Hutchinsons with a selection she had chosen and we helped her narrow it down to these boards, which look fantastic. These were the sorts of questions we helped Rachael tackle throughout the reno, another was which way to lay the boards. We would usually recommend running the wood from the front door straight to the back of the house, but the front door sits at the side of the house (to the left of the dining room entrance above). So, although the boards run across the entrance, they then lead your eye down to the beautiful big doors and view at the back of the house.

Rachael already had her dining table, chairs and rug. We sourced the pendant lighting for the kitchen and dining room, helped with art placement, and the colour to paint the fireplace. We sourced the kitchen handles from Archant and the chopping board, bowls and jugs are all ours.

The narrow double doors in the living room (above) were removed and an opening was made on the other side of the fireplace for easier access from the front door and kitchen through to the rest of the house. Large sliding doors were put in (below) to take advantage of the view and the light.

With new carpet and freshly painted walls, Rachael just asked us to help her choose a new sofa, coffee table, side table, and pendant light. We had this sofa custom made for her by one of our NZ furniture manufacturers. They’re made in New Zealand, and the quality and workmanship is superb, so it will last her a long, long time. To keep the cost down slightly, we chose a hardwearing but more cost-effective fabric in a gorgeous deep teal. The large coffee table is the perfect scale for the sofa, and the double layer is handy - you can pop baskets for storage on the bottom layer, or spare cushions. We also had new curtains made in a beautiful soft grey linen blend.

Rachael’s bedroom has these lovely character features, but we helped give it a mini makeover with a new wall colour, new curtains, and a new window seat squab.

The wall colour almost glows it’s so warm and gorgeous. It’s a dusty umber and ashen red toned neutral. OK, it’s pink, but it’s such a sophisticated colour that feels serene and restful in the master bedroom. The linen hydrangea cushions (below) we had custom made - all available to purchase from us.

Directly opposite the master bedroom is the tiny powder room. With no natural light this space would’ve looked flat if we painted it white, so we chose another soft, pretty colour.

The family bathroom was created from scratch in the old entrance area. A large space, we created wall-to-wall storage down one end to house the laundry as well as an extra cupboard for the mop, broom etc. I say “we created it”, but clearly Davcon did all the hard work…

And then Sydaz did a fantastic job creating all of the cabinetry. We chose the tiles from Tile Space, and used HardieGroove™ on the walls to add subtle texture.

The children’s bedrooms also only required mini makeovers. In Rachael’s son’s room it was choosing a colour that he would love, and also one that would grow with him into his teens. Also a cool new window squab so he could enjoy his epic view - lucky kid - and new bedding!

In Rachael’s daughter’s room we opted for a warm, happy colour scheme to add a bit of fun and interest. We kept the colour to the bottom half of the walls, and mixed it up with some different coloured bedding.

And here she is… Rachael was one of our most favourite clients and a joy to work with. We were so impressed with the way she managed a massive renovation with two young children, whilst holding down a very important, full-time job. No matter how smoothly everything goes, renovations are often still stressful, just because of the disruption they cause to your life. But this one was well worth it! The other reason we love Rachael is that she listened to us, trusted us, and followed through with everything we suggested. This is always the best outcome, so thanks Rach, and thank you for allowing us to share your beautiful home. x

The block is over | Girls vs Boys

August 15, 2016

The Block NZ is a wrap for another season. There was much excitement in our household last night as we watched the live auction. Before I get to that though, let's have a quick look at the very last room reveal for the season. Just when the teams thought they had finished renovating, Mark announced one last challenge - House 5. The house was divided up and spaces were allocated to the teams. As the winners, Sam and Emmett had the enviable task of choosing the auction order.

Sam and Emmett - Bedroom + Ensuite: 1st place - 18.5 points (9.5 points from Fiona and 9 points from Paul)

The judges obviously loved the boy's master bedroom and ensuite. It was certainly a far cry from their very first bedroom in week 1. There was a subtle sophistication with a slight masculine edge.

Niki and Tiff - Kitchen, Dining + Guest Bedroom: 2nd place - 16.5 points (8.5 points from Fiona and 8 points from Paul)

I really liked seeing the girls present a different style to their Block house. The kitchen and dining had a modern retro feel. I love the black subways laid vertically, and the chairs were cool, albeit the table a bit too small for the space.

The guest bedroom was beautiful and very feminine. Those pendant lights are gorgeous, and the colour palette is simple and pretty, inspired by the artwork.

Dyls and Dylz - Main Bathroom, Garage + Laundry: 3rd place - 15.5 points (7.5 points from Fiona and 8 points from Paul)

I don't understand why D+D decided to copy N+T's tribal style in this bathroom. It was similar to the girls' style but not as good (in my opinion).

Their garage and laundry was similar to their own Block house, so it was good, but a bit lazy from a design aspect, I thought. This house was a chance to embrace a different look.

Emma and Courtney - Living Room, Entrance + Stairs: last place - 15 points (7 points from Fiona and 8 points from Paul)

I loved seeing some colour in the girls' living room. The blue of the sofa is gorgeous and works really well with the tan leather chair.

I recognise that console table in the entrance from E+C's Block house, so, once again, it was a shame they didn't try something new. The fact that the teams managed to complete this house in one week though is pretty incredible.

Choosing to have their Block house auctioned last, well and truly paid off for Sam and Emmett. Their profit of $380,000 over the reserve price (the largest profit in The Block NZ history) crowned them the winners of The Block Girls vs Boys. As the winners they received an extra $100,000 bringing their total to $480,000 - amazing!

Emma and Courtney came second with an impressive $300,000 over reserve to split between themselves. Dyls and Dylz gained $151,000 over reserve, and also walked away with a brand new Honda HR-V Sport for being voted The People's Choice. Although last, Niki and Tiff still won $150,000 from the sale of their house, so a hugely successful way to finish this season. Catch up on all The Block news and many more photos on the TV3 website, where they're already looking for 2017 Block applicants - will it be you?