Kohimarama New Kitchen and Refresh

The kitchen is handleless and white, which sounds austere until you see what it is paired with. Open oak niches are set into the run at eye level, the floor is oak, and the two together stop the white from reading as cold.

Everything that makes a kitchen look busy has been moved. A walk-in scullery takes the small appliances, the toaster bench and the everyday storage, so the island and the main run stay clear. That is the decision the whole room depends on.

The island is stone, unbroken, and long enough to seat the family along one side. Appliances are integrated, and the tall cabinetry runs to the ceiling so there is no dust shelf and no visual break.

Through the rest of the ground floor the refresh is quieter. A round oak dining table with black chairs, a fire in the living room, and one room given a deep green wall with an oak sideboard against it, which is where the house allows itself some colour.