art house / kitchen reveal
Recently I had the please of consulting on the interior design of a heritage villa. This elegant old lady had lived a long and full life, and her weary bones were in danger of giving out. Luckily she was rescued by new owners who saw the potential and possessed the dedication required to bring her back to life. They enlisted Broswick Builders to carry out the renovation, meticulously restoring the entire interior and exterior over almost two years. Here’s a quick look at the completed kitchen and dining spaces in this gracious home.
The kitchen
This 1920s villa features a gorgeous arch in the entranceway which the builders preserved and restored. To continue the easy elegance throughout the main living zones, we added an archway leading into the kitchen and the living room opposite. This creates a formal yet friendly entry point, frames the kitchen beautifully, and introduces soft curves into the otherwise linear space. The kitchen by Neo Design features shaker style cabinetry lacquered in Resene Foundry, a Michelangelo marble benchtop and splashback, aged brass tapware and a Blanco Silgranit sink in Anthracite.
The dining space
The dining area sits at the end of the kitchen in a beautiful sunny spot. While it’s great to have afternoon sun, needing sunglasses to eat your meal isn’t! We decided to put floor to ceiling sheer curtains along this wall of bifold doors to filter the light, ensure privacy and add a dreamy softness to the space. Using a ceiling track for curtains means you can get them right to the top with out any seamless gaps showing. The dining zone is completed with a table from Tim Webber, pendant lighting from ECC, dining chairs and barstools from Nood.
The owners of this home have a stunning art collection that they wanted to mount around the house to inject colour, energy and interest into the spaces. The blank wall between the kitchen and dining was the perfect spot for this statement Karl Maughan piece. We painted the kitchen walls in Resene Beryl Green to create a fresh backdrop for the art, and a pair of adjustable art spotlights highlight the painting at night.
Continuing Resene Beryl Green throughout the kitchen creates a backdrop that helps the cabinetry stand out, and I think it also adds more of a heritage feel to this character villa. We used Resene Concrete in the scullery and bar beyond for more of a moody, grown-up feel. I love the addition of a pot filler, timber cutting board, ceramic shakers and copper kitchenware to bring texture and character into the space. I hope these lovely clients enjoy a whole lot of entertaining, family time, eating and imbibing in their welcoming new kitchen.
