Trends New Zealand Trends Volume 31 No 2 New Zealand | Page 43

Heart of the matter
Located on the darker side of an open-plan space, this kitchen benefits
from reflective surfaces and sculptural cabinetry composition

Sometimes the constraints on a project can
bring out the best in a designer. For example,
working with fixed interior elements or limited
natural light sources are just two issues that
require thinking outside the box.
The owners had built this house five years
earlier and now the time was right to create an
open-plan kitchen to match the home’s modern,
light aesthetic, says Lara Farmilo, an interior
design consultant at Poggenpohl Akzente.
“The kitchen is in an area that is dug into the
hillside so it could have been quite dark, even
though there are skylights. However, instead of

light colours, we specified a black backpainted
glass splashback that extends around the walls.
This surface reflects natural light through the
space and complements the pine wood and the
green cabinets.
“The owners had saved a brochure of the
exact kitchen they wanted at the time they
built the house – the Poggenpohl Segmento.
We tweaked the composition and layout of the
design to allow for the stairwell,” says Farmilo.
“The cabinetry wraps in under the stairs, and
we were able to put the services and plumbing
into the toekick.”

Preceding pages: This Poggenpohl
kitchen by designer Lara Farmilo is
constrained by a stairwell to the left
and a sloping floor at the front. The
cabinetry is set in and around the
stair, while the island and bar stop
short of the change in floor level.
These pages: A black backpainted
glass splashback and Tebas Black
Silestone benchtops reflect light
through the kitchen. Relatively thin
12mm worksurfaces give the space
a modern, minimalist aesthetic.

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