News

May 16, 2023

Kitchen of the Week: Designer says planning her own kitchen was 'hardest thing under the sun'

It’s always fascinating to see what designers choose for their own home projects – after all, they’re right up with all the latest technology and materials. But for Tracy Murphy of Vekart, that was a

It’s always fascinating to see what designers choose for their own home projects – after all, they’re right up with all the latest technology and materials.

But for Tracy Murphy of Vekart, that was a drawback when it came to designing the kitchen for the family’s new home in Mount Maunganui – there were so many ideas she loved.

“It’s the hardest thing ever to design your own kitchen,” she says.

“It took many years, and numerous redos. I even resorted to trying to move the position of the kitchen within the space, but that was awkward due to the shape of the lounge. The plan grew and evolved.”

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Murphy was interested in “pushing all the boundaries with light and airy materials”, and she wanted a “unique, functional design” with integrated appliances.

The couple and their 18-year-old son required high benches and overhead cupboards; they also wanted an entertaining-bar area.

The “hero” of the kitchen is a large island with curved ends.

“Originally, I had planned just two curved corners,” the designer says. “But that got changed to all four corners.”

The curves allow an easy flow around the kitchen within the open-plan living area, and introduce a soft, organic feel to the space.

Three consecutive slabs of Matarazzo stone in a leathered finish with a reasonably consistent pattern help achieve this look. But there were hiccups along the way.

“With limited time and supply difficulties due to Covid, the original selection of 20mm thick Matarazzo arrived damaged,” Murphy says.

“Luckily, we were able to source 30mm Matarazzo stone already in a leathered finish – a totally different look to the original selection. Extra floor joists were added below the island as the approximate weight of the island is 1000kg.”

The island benchtop and splashback are also Matarazzo stone. And, with extensive LED lighting, the island appears to “float”.

LED lighting features throughout the kitchen, to counter the shade created by surrounding trees.

Both the low and overhead cabinets are 12mm-thick Florim porcelain stone in white, with a matt finish. The fronts have a custom scalloped detail with a 30-degree-angle waterjet cut. Blum Legrabox full-extension drawer runners and soft close systems ensure drawers and doors open and close effortlessly.

The same Florim porcelain features on the scullery splashback. And, being highly durable, it forms the benchtops where the sink and hob are positioned. The white porcelain is teamed with 18mm crown-cut American white oak veneer on the tall cabinetry, with a fine solid Tekton edging.

The scullery, which runs behind the kitchen, is an integral part of the space – the integrated refrigerators are set back beside the entry to the scullery.

Murphy says she wanted the fridges in a central location, but it was important to keep the island in line with the splashback. Having them in the scullery area was the best solution.

Solid oak trapezoid-shaped handles on the fridge doors are stained to match the veneer.

Both the oven (on the left of the kitchen) and the bar at the opposite end are concealed behind Concepta pocket doors. “This reduces the visual length of the rear elevation, allowing us to connect materials to adjoining walls and make a feature of the natural stone island and splashback.”

Murphy specified a Gaggenau single oven in Anthracite, a matching Gaggenau combi oven, AEG hob and Whispair extractor.

The integrated fridge-freezers, wine fridge and main dishwasher are Miele, and the dishwasher in the scullery is a Fisher & Paykel DishDrawer.

Buddy mixers in Gunmetal are teamed with undermounted Häfele Blanco Etagon sinks.