Cooking with greens

This family kitchen is infused with its garden surroundings – light floods in from the adjacent dining/lounge space and an outdoor room alongside

A lowered stainless-steel workspace cantilevers off the monolithic

Looking into the rear kitchen space from the

Dining and lounge. - Cooking with greens -

Indoor cooking is one step from outdoor serving

The home's garden landscape is brought into the

Looking from the dining room, separated by a

The 'garden room' and study as seen from

The outdoor room with kitchen beyond. - Cooking

Looking in from the rear of the property.

The plan showing relationship to garden room.

Designed by SGA

From the architects:

Context

Located in the suburb of Hobsonville, Auckland, this kitchen forms part of a new home for a professional couple moving into retirement.

High priority has been given to accessibility and liveability within the house and to its relationship with the developing gardens.

Two stained cedar clad building blocks defining public (kitchen, dining, living spaces) spaces, while the private spaces (bedrooms & service spaces) are linked by a voluminous ‘garden room’.

Lining treatments emphasise the ambiguity of this indoor-outdoor space and connections to the garden and landscape.

Integrating principles of sustainability and accessibility, the home aims to allow the clients to mitigate health challenges and maintain their independence and a high quality of life for as long as possible.

The kitchen is a demonstration of these principles at work.

The kitchen itself

The morning sun reaches the kitchen through the spacious garden room and the evening sun is enjoyed from the outdoor dining adjacent to the kitchen.

Stacked sliders and level entry tiled floors blur the edge between outside and inside and allow for easy mobility between spaces and direct access to the adjacent herb & food gardens.

The growing garden landscape is brought further into the kitchen and living areas with the soft green colour palette of the walls and extending to the main wall of lacquered green kitchen cabinetry.

Blum’s Tip-on push-to-open technology allows the clean detailing of handleless doors & drawers.

The lacquered green cabinet fronts contrast with the natural stone cooking area and island bench, which sits proudly in the multi-functional space.

A lowered stainless-steel workspace cantilevers off the monolithic stone island bench and caters for food preparation, washing and cooking to be done from a seated position.

The dark stone of the island contains hues of brown to complement the rich teak stained cedar ceiling linings that extend through the entire house.

Miele appliances and Oli tapware were chosen in stainless steel and black to complement the palette of the kitchen island.

Adjustable black barrel lights on the raking ceiling above the kitchen provide general lighting with a black aluminium linear profile illuminating the multi-level island bench.