Kitchen

A kitchen reno completed in 10 days

Article by Homes to Love

Take a peek inside this kitchen reno – it’s a light, bright and modern makeover that ticks every box

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At a glance

Who lives here? Caroline Jericevich (customer manager) and Callum Bakker (project manager).

Where is it? Point Chevalier, Auckland.

Lived here since… April 2015.

How long did the makeover take? Ten days all up, including demolishing the old kitchen.

Who was your stylist? Your Home and Garden contributor Emily Somerville-Ryan.

DIY details

Caroline, what made you enter Your Home and Garden and Mitre 10 MEGA’s ‘win a Room Reno’ competition?
My mum read the magazine first and told us we should definitely enter. I had been whingeing to everyone in the family about how terrible the kitchen was and how we couldn’t afford to do it up, so we decided to act on Mum’s advice.

How much was your budget?
$15,000.

How did you feel when you found out you had won?
We couldn’t believe it – it seemed too good to be true. It means so much to us as it’s our first home and we simply couldn’t afford to renovate the kitchen. We were absolutely ecstatic!

Describe the kitchen before…
It was dull, dark and hideous. There was a green faux-marble laminate benchtop, which was so narrow everything would fall off onto the floor – we have wasted so many dinners on that floor! Dark brown cabinetry with some of the drawers minus runners so they would get stuck every time you tried to open them. One side of the kitchen was a complete waste of space with a huge, bulky pantry. The waste disposal was so old it sounded like there was something permanently stuck down there.

Best moment during the reno?

Coming home each night and seeing the progress. It was turned around so fast!

What was the reno process like with Your Home and Garden’s stylist Emily and Mitre 10 MEGA?
Emily was awesome and seemed to know the style we were going for after our first meeting. Mitre 10 MEGA were really helpful throughout the design process and offered heaps of great advice and suggestions – they made the process so easy and painless.

Describe the style you wanted for your new kitchen…
Clean, simple and modern, and light and bright. Mitre 10 MEGA really is a one-stop kitchen solution – you can get everything from tiles, benchtops, cabinetry, tapware and appliances to plants! They also have a great selection so you can find something to match the style you are going for.

What’s your favourite part of the new space?
The marble bevelled tiles – they create such a great feature behind the cooktop and really tie everything together.

Thoughts on the end result?
We love it! We have so much extra room now. It was designed as a working triangle which we love, and the pull out pantry and hidden cleaning caddy under the sink makes it super user-friendly.

Styling

Emily, as the stylist on this project, what were your first impressions of the kitchen?
Caroline and Callum’s kitchen was a very tired and basic 1970s model with ancient appliances, decrepit light fittings and non-functioning cupboard doors and drawers, and it was littered with patch-up jobs from years of slapdash DIY nightmares. It was dark and shabby with a dreary brown and dirty cream colour scheme and a ghastly snot-coloured 1970s faux-marble benchtop. There was very little storage or bench space and it was letting down the rest of the house which had been painstakingly and stylishly renovated by Caroline and Callum.

Styling tips:

  • Try to keep bench spaces as clear as possible, keeping only your favourite statement pieces in view. Remember: less is more so keep the major finishes as simple and timeless as possible.
  • Liven up your kitchen area with greenery. Vibrant subtropical potted plants and fresh herbs growing on the bench or window sill work well.
  • Keep your cupboards in order. Well-organised drawers and cupboards are less likely to spill over onto your bench space.
  • Using the same colours on the kitchen walls and flooring as you have used in the dining/living area will make the space seem larger and brighter and give your home a seamless flow.
  • Tie in wooden floors in the kitchen with other wooden touches by adding elements such as chopping boards, wooden utensils or bar stools.

Words compiled by: Kristina Rapley
Photography by: Todd Eyre

To design your dream New Zealand-made kitchen, visit mitre10.co.nz/kitchens or your nearest Mitre 10 MEGA where an instore designer can walk you through the whole kitchen process from design to installation.

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