Taking city chic to new heights

A leaky home project led a Grafton couple to rethink their kitchen and the team from Jag Kitchens brought their ideas to life creating a metropolitan space to be proud of.

Unlike the average Aucklander, Pearl Wilson loves Mondays and cold weather. So when the inner city dweller and husband, John Henry, decided to remodel their Grafton apartment after discovering it was a leaky home, the new design was far from typical. With its high ceilings, open plan layout and generous outdoor deck, it had all the qualities of a New York style loft apartment.

That extended to the kitchen too. “We decided to do the kitchen as well because we wanted something to show for all the work that was going to be done,” says Pearl.

Researching online for kitchen companies, Pearl says Jag Kitchens was the first that came up in the search. “They had a comprehensive website so I thought I’d check them out in person.”

Visiting Jag Kitchens in Botany’s Danske Mobler Home Centre, Pearl met with one of Jag Kitchens’ design consultants and was instantly blown away. “They are so professional and easy to talk to, and showed me a visual straight away based on my measurements and it looked great,” says Pearl.

Pearl had definite ideas of what she wanted but some practical tweaking was needed, so Jag came up with some alternatives that Pearl was happy with.

“And it couldn’t have turned out any better,” says Pearl. “Jag Kitchens did a fantastic job. They’ve been a real pleasure to work with. Nothing was a problem and there was no stress on my part.”

This reflects on the kitchen too – serene yet effortlessly stunning, it has truly encapsulated the style and grace of a modern minimalist kitchen with all the trimmings.

For starters, space has been maximised to the fullest. With enough bench space to rival the workspace of a professional, the L-shaped area looks simply magnificent.

Boasting a thick, engineered stone benchtop in a recently imported style – Fantasy – a traditionally dark corner of the house has been brightened up with subtle white and light grey flecks. “I wanted the least amount of bling,” says Pearl.

Another stunner is the large tiles in a marbled slate grey that extend all around the kitchen from the bench right through to the ceiling.

Other beautiful touches stand out including carafe-shaped transparent pendant lights above the breakfast bar as well as an unexpected colour contrast in the form of wide black drawers and black toe kicks alongside light woodgrain cabinetry.

Practical too with an on bench pantry, revolving Mondo corner and a hot water tap (“John’s input!” says Pearl), the kitchen has been the subject of admiration for the builders working on the house as well as neighbours from the other leaky homes.

“They’re all coming in and going ‘wow!’ The colours and everything are just amazing,” says Pearl.

Importantly, the ‘dream kitchen’ has made a huge impact on Pearl and John’s lifestyle. “Before, we hated being in the kitchen together. Now we can have a party in the kitchen, it’s that big!”

– Article courtesy of H&P Times