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kitchen of many colours


From Habitat magazine - issue 17

No fewer than 11 paint colours were used in the creation of this very bespoke kitchen.

When a building inspector said, "at least you haven't had to do anything to the kitchen", Ros didn't know whether to hit him or hug him. Although she had laboured over her kitchen, this was a high compliment for it meant she had achieved her goal – to make this kitchen look like it belonged to her Arts and Crafts house and not look 'new'.

A bespoke kitchen for and Arts and Crafts house
For a kitchen that looks so restful it has a lot going on – 11 colours, a laundry corner, breakfast nook and two external doors. The island cabinets are Resene Double Napa while the walls are Resene Quarter Parchment.

With hand-painted cupboards, a rainbow of colours, five different handle styles, self-made stained glass, metal edging on shelves and a rough concrete face to the island bench, this kitchen is a triumph of personal style.

The inside of the glass-fronted cupboards that are scattered throughout the kitchen are painted unexpected and bold colours like Resene Hazard (orange), Resene Blumine (teal) and Resene Kashmir Blue. The cabinetry is also a variety of colours from Resene High Noon to Resene Napa. Even the floor is twotone, in a traditional chequered pattern using cork tiles painted with Resene Half Napa and Resene Eighth Parchment.

China cabinet
Kitchen -stained glass panels
China cabinet: Ros's strong women forebears are an inspiration, and why this china cabinet, in Resene High Noon, is so important to her.  Stained glass panels: Ros made the stained glass panels above the pantry herself. Get the look with Resene SpaceCote Low Sheen Kitchen & Bathroom tinted to Resene Parchment.

Ros had already liaised with three kitchen designers before contacting Celia Visser, who created a design that made sense, helped choose the colours and co-ordinated the many people it takes to produce any kitchen, let alone one like this. Previous designs had looked too contrived, but Celia understood what Ros was trying to achieve and was unfazed by her strength of conviction. Husband Gerald was a patient sounding board but basically left them to it.

The laundry was relocated and a cute breakfast nook took its place, dressed with a preloved table and old church pews.

Dining nook
Laundry cupboard
Table setting: A new dining nook takes advantage of the sun through gorgeous second-hand windows.  Laundry cupboard: Resene Hazard peeks out of a laundry cupboard.

While Ros was inspired by the highly individual work of international kitchen designer Johnny Grey, she sees her kitchen as having strong local influences and is inspired by the strong pioneering women who carved out the foundation of an egalitarian society. "Style without snobbery," as Ros puts it. It's also influenced by the South Canterbury farmhouse of her childhood, where you leave your gumboots at the door and share wholesome food. Which is why Ros's cupboard filled with family china is so important to her.

Says Ros: "It's Pacifica, too. The paua handles place me in the Southern Hemisphere and remind me of the sound of the sea, being barefoot in the sand, the smell of fish in the boat…" Contemporary influences also get a look in, in the form of a cheeky stencil above the bench by local street artists Cut Collective.

Wherever she could Ros introduced elements that had history. A circular slab of rimu set into the corner of the bench is recrafted from pieces found inside the demolished walls of the old laundry. Its robust steel leg is set into a ring of concrete found on the property. The original kitchen cabinets were actually dresser tops so three of these were recycled into the new kitchen.

The kitchen continues to evolve. And if Ros or Gerald get tired of the colours, because everything is hand-painted, they can just change it.

Did you know...

That Resene tinters are non VOC, highly concentrated automotive-grade tinters so you can get your favourite colours tinted into Resene decorative paints without adding unwanted VOCs? The tinters are very durable and are exclusive to Resene.

Accessories: Granite bench: Kashmir White by Elite Kitchens. Design by Celia Visser Design, www.celiavisser.co.nz. Cork tiles: painted in Resene Half Napa and Resene Eighth Parchment by Cork Concepts, www.corksupplies.co.nz. Paua handles: Simon Edmonds Design. Stencil angel: Cut Collective.

words: Sharon Newey
pictures: Frances Oliver


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