Black and white elegance in Maraetai

Being friends with a designer from Jag Kitchens can have its benefits as a young Maraetai family discovered recently when they built their sunny new home.

Frankie and Nicola Lee could already envision their new home when they began building it in October last year. However, when it came to a new kitchen, they had to call in the experts.

Luckily for them, Nicola was friends with a Jag Kitchens designer. “We’d known each other for a long time, and so they were the natural choice when it came to designing and building our new kitchen,” Nicola says.

A mother of two children, aged five and eight, Nicola craved a spacious, workable kitchen that would accommodate the growing family’s needs.

“Our old place was a lot smaller and had no space at all. But it’s a completely different story with this kitchen. We had 40 over here for our five-year-old’s birthday party and four of us were in the kitchen at one time! That would never have happened in the old kitchen.”

The trendy hairdresser with an eye for visual design says colour, or rather an absence of strong colour, played an important part. “I wanted the kitchen to be white, clean and clutter-free – it also helped to really open up the kitchen and when the sunlight streams in it looks simply gorgeous.”

As Nicola’s favourite colours are black and white, the minimalist kitchen also features a single wall covered in blackboard paint – a simple yet effective way of fusing style and practicality. “I wanted to be able to write on the walls and so would the kids!”

Further enhanced by a few black and white accessories, and complemented with a glint of stainless steel hardware and appliances, the open and airy space is both a trendy and stunning addition to the new home.

While the overall style was Nicola’s doing, the Jag Kitchens design team stepped in to help with the finer details. Two or three plans were created, and the design team selected the one they thought would work best.

The Jag Kitchens team also introduced nifty little contraptions such as the “magic” corner, the revolving Mondo corner, a corner pantry, spice drawer and vertical dividers in the overhead cabinet, all of which really struck a chord with Nicola. “I especially love the corner cabinets – they work brilliantly. And the sinks are lovely and deep – perfect for washing up.”

Another practical feature is the induction hob. “It’s so quick,” says Nicola. “I often steam vegetables and it heats up ever so quickly – even my brother was surprised!”

Being safe for the children was another big bonus, says Nicola. “I don’t have to worry about the children burning their hands anymore and they’re so much safer than traditional hobs.”

And she has more compliments for the Jag Kitchens team of contractors, whom she praised for working to really high standards. “They were clean and efficient and went the extra mile.”

In the end, it was the design team who truly delivered. “They were fantastic!” says Nicola. “Even when I wanted something that wouldn’t work, they managed to find a way around it. Jag Kitchens were easy to work with and really listened to exactly what I wanted. The kitchen’s great and they have done a fabulous job.”

– Article courtesy of H&P Times