our home build journey - kitchen details ♡

Here we go - another blog written from the supermarket car park whilst my kids nap. 

Today it’s about It’s the hub, and arguably the most important and well used space in every home - the kitchen. It’s where we cook, where we caffinate, where we eat, where we entertain and where we hang out. 

With 4 growing boys (ages 6,4,2,1) and I’m sure many of their friends in tow, our kitchen will always be a very busy space, so we wanted it to be functional and family friendly, whilst also catering for entertainment. 

KITCHEN BRIEF

• an open plan kitchen / living / dining
• an island bench free from a sink
• an island that can cater for 6 bar stools - with stretch great enough for beer pong cause... YOLO
• a ginormous sink 
• a large pantry to feed 4 teenage (😳) boys one day
• a drinks station 
• no corner cupboards
• a quiet integrated rangehood 
• a plastics draw 
• a snacks draw accessible to the kids 

We began our kitchen journey with a different design - one that consisted of a scullery. After a little bit of research on our Instagram handle (which among a couple of hundred people, found that those who actually have sculleries don’t love them, and those who don’t have one, want one) - we decided that with the space we had, we were better off going for a large kitchen, as opposed to a small scullery and medium kitchen. The reason for this was that the baking and activities I had imagined doing in the scullery with the kids, would only be good for 1 child at a time... not functional, and no good when you’ve got 4 kids total who are usually all comping at the bit when it comes to cookie baking time. With the big sinkless bench, we decided we are probably better off with a situation where all of the boys can sit on one side and participate in the bikkie antics. 

At the beginning Beau and I were both gravitating towards a black kitchen, but again after some research we discovered with 4 kids in tow black ‘smudge proof’ cabinetry is not so smudge proof after all... so we are going to share our alternative with you shortly. 

After initially getting quotes from a couple of kitchen companies, we met with Moda NZ - based in Auckland, who have been nothing but five star. Helpful, forth coming with ideas, and respectful of our budget. This week we locked in our final specs for our kitchen, all of which I am going to detail below; 

APPLIANCES
We actually purchased all of our appliances (primarily Fisher & Paykel) from Barrell’s NZ over a year ago (just before the nationwide price increases started happening - win). Our appliances are all black / dark stainless, with a goal to keep some consistency in the kitchen around our industrial theme. We opted for an induction hob, French door fridge, double dish drawer, integrated rangehood and an integrated double oven with a regular oven on the bottom. Whilst we have actually lived 2.5 years without a microwave (and it turns out we haven’t really missed it), on the top is a combination oven / microwave, which I’m sure will be handy for all the 2 minute noodle afternoon teas I can foresee in my future. 

TAPWARE & SINK
Originally we wanted to go with a country style porcelain sink - primarily for the size factor, but quickly we were warned away due to the risk of the porcelain chipping with the kids. Instead we decided to go for the same country style sink (slighter smaller but still decent sized), but this was a stainless option from ABI interiors. Again for consistency of our industrial theme, we opted for gunmetal grey in both the sink and the ABI gooseneck tapware, as we have done right throughout the home. 

ISLAND BENCH
Our island underbench is going to be clad in Sugi - charred Japanese Cedar timber by Sugi NZ. This is a feature, and will be the primary texture in our kitchen. This was a great alternative to the original idea of a black kitchen for us. We totally feel like we got the cake and have eaten it too with this product. It is all things incredible and we plan to do our barn door also in Sugi. 

BENCH TOPS
A raw concrete feel that is in fact an engineered stone. We are rapt with our choice of bench top which ties in just perfectly to our choice of cabinetry and Sugi - a little wabi sabi, which suits us to a tee - with four kids in tow as you’d expect, perfectly imperfect is our jam. The bench tops have been a great addition to our industrial styled home that have slipped just nicely into our budget. 

CABINETRY
Picture wrapped cabinetry in a muted light grey paired with a dark charcoal colour to compliment. Although wrapping is a softer product than melamine, this time we decided to go wrapped as we love the quality look and feel, and have experienced the product firsthand in a family members home (over the period of almost 10 years), and been very impressed. Previously we haven’t loved laminated edges and how they can warp and peel over time (please note this is just in our experience and is not to speak for all), so wrapped cabinetry was something a little different that we thought we would like to try this time around. 

SPLASH BACK
We are planning to opt for a smokey mirror splash back. This will be a long stretch along our back wall, that we think will bring the space together just nicely. And this mama will have eyes in the back of her head - even when she is cooking 😆

NEGOTIATIONS
The kitchen negotiations looked like ending up with a corner cupboard, BUT, it’s not your classic - it’s a lazy Susan style! You push it in rather than pull it out, which thankfully means no awkward cupboards in the kitchen for the kids to swing off - woo! Not a bad alternative to the traditional corner cupboard in a situation where you’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t. 
Our second negotiation was in the bench top department... there was another bench top that stole my heart... but broke the bank - however thanks to Sandra at Moda, we’ve found an alternative that I am just as happy with. 

Despite the travel our trip to Moda NZ was well worth our time, and we’re hoping to have the kitchen deal sealed in the next week or so. Another thing ticked off the list. 

With product shortages here in NZ, managing a build means keeping your eye on the ball and staying ahead of the game. This week we ordered our carpet and tiles and have already started looking at curtains due to the long waiting periods ahead. Let’s all cross our fingers we can get decking timber... we’re working on it 🤞

The roof is now on and we are awaiting our rondo ceiling battens to be installed this week - and our cladding to be delivered... delay dependant 🤞😅

 Windows will arrive on the 6th of April - it’s going to be a big month guys! Watch this space for LOCKUP (of the digital code kind) cause #twothousandandtwentyone 

Lauren & co. x