New kitchen blends in with Lockwood home

 

For five years the Lim family put up with their fridge sitting in the dining area – that it is, until they found Jag Kitchens.

Lockwood-style homes are not exactly designed for modern appliances – as Jean and Mervin Lim soon discovered when they migrated from Singapore to New Zealand.

The designated space for the fridge – an angled, standalone wall – was only wide enough for a single door fridge and so, the Lims’ fridge was inconveniently sentenced to a corner in the dining area. Having just completed the garage renovations of their Highland Park home, Jean was not thinking of doing a kitchen renovation just then.

“I suffered with the fridge in the dining area because none of the kitchen design companies could ever convince me of a solution – until I met Lesley.”

The mother of two says she could even remember that it was a Sunday afternoon when she and her husband were browsing at the Danske Mobler store in Botany. Having heard of Jag Kitchens from a friend of a friend, Jean was prompted to find out more through Jag Kitchen designer and owner Lesley McLagan.

“We sat down and spoke to her and when she gave us our quote we thought, ‘we can actually do this!’ At no time did she make us feel like we were a bother – she gave us all the time we needed.”

Lesley says she was keen to show the Lims that there were several options for their Lockwood home. “We had to draw up a few plans to see what would work. Lots of people see Lockwoods as a bit of a challenge and it can be a little tricky to work around the wall end caps.”

The fridge problem was solved by extending the standalone wall making it wide enough for the big fridge. The outer side was then wallpapered as a feature in the lounge. Doing away with the breakfast bar, which the Lims never used, Lesley suggested the kitchen bench and cabinets be extended towards the dining area.

As the cabinets faced the dining area, the couple were keen on tinted glass display cabinets – part of this became Mervin’s cocktail cabinet, the rest housed Jean’s fine tableware.

Jean says: “We were afraid it would look too bulky from the other side but through Jag’s 3D computer imaging programme, we could see what would work and what wouldn’t.”

The kitchen extends further into the dining area than before but it’s not a problem now the fridge has a new home. “It’s given me a lot more space. Now three or four people can be in the kitchen at the same time and I don’t have to chase them out,” she says.

The former kitchen had many dead corners which housed things the family found difficult to access. “We eventually forgot about them as you had to remove half the cupboard just to retrieve one thing,” Jean says. “One solution was a revolving Mondo corner which ensures easy retrieval of items. It is now the first thing the kids proudly show off to guests when they visit.”

A shallow sink was upgraded to a bigger and deeper sink – to fit big, Asian-style woks which Jean uses regularly. Along with other handy details such as soft close drawers, rubbish insert, induction hobs and pull-out pantry drawers, the Lims’ kitchen was all set for modern kitchen living.

Jean says she was really impressed with how quickly Jag worked to design and install her kitchen. “The attention to detail was amazing. The installer was able to come up with solutions to problems instantly – the service was just remarkable.”

Sporting a new outlook on kitchen renovations thanks to Jag, Jean and Mervin are over the moon with their kitchen. “I hear lots of people saying how kitchen companies are nightmares to work with but we didn’t get any of that with Jag – it’s been absolutely wonderful.”

– Article courtesy of H&P Times