TeKāuta (Cooking House)

The person who does most of the cooking in this home is of Māori heritage, and the room that contains the kitchen is where the family (whānau) gathers.

The brief was to design a modern, minimalist kitchen that was aesthetically sympathetic to the existing home and also to include seating for six at the island, natural stone benchtops, and a long list of specific appliances. It also had to dovetail into the home’s existing and unique architectural aesthetic.

The new kitchen is large and proportionate to the room and the huge house in which it sits. The benchtop is balanced with ample seating for family. The minimal, timeless colour palette does not compete with the existing aesthetic and sits beautifully on the white oak flooring. The glass extractor canopy pays homage to the existing kitchen’s glass cavity doors and the glass features that are a feature of the home’s architecture.