Kitchens By Design’s Marianne Gailer has picked up yet more awards for her beautiful kitchen designs – this time, over the ditch in Australia.
The Kitchen and Bathroom Designers Institute (KBDi) Awards are the equivalent of the Oscars for kitchen and bathroom designers in Australia, and this year’s ceremony was held at the end of September in Adelaide, the City of Churches.
Designer Marianne Gailer, from Takapuna-based Kitchens By Design, flew over to be at the event after being shortlisted for one of the major awards on the night – and it wasn’t a wasted journey, as she picked up the award for the best large kitchen NSW category, plus was the winner of the prestigious title of Kitchen Designer of the Year NSW 2017. In addition, Marianne was named one of the six runners-up in the Australian Certified Designer of the Year 2017 category – another affirmation of her talent as a designer.
Before returning to New Zealand and joining Kitchens By Design, Marianne, a North Shore native, had spent six years living and working in Sydney, and this award-winning design was one of the last projects she completed in Australia.
The project that won Marianne her title is this striking modern kitchen, designed for a small family living in a large city-centre apartment overlooking a park.
Marianne’s brief was to create a stunning, contemporary kitchen with a wow factor, and she did not disappoint. The inspiration for the bold cobalt-blue came from a painting the clients have hanging in their hallway, and this was translated into a high-gloss metallic finish on the cabinetry on back wall of the kitchen and the under-bench cabinetry on the peninsula.
The kitchen peninsula is clad in mitred Corian Cirrus White, giving a stark contrast to the blue cabinetry behind. From the centre of the peninsula extends a built-in table (also made from Corian) whose height can be adjusted, depending on its intended use – informal standing or a more formal seated dinner. A mirror finish on the central plinth lifting mechanism makes the table appear to float, adding a little more magic to the whole design.
An adjacent walk-in pantry was a request from her clients. It’s small, but very functional, and contains a sink, dishwasher, hot water tap and microwave. All interior walls are finished in white, apart from a swathe of hexagonal copper and stainless steel tiles that help the kitchen blend into the existing copper panelling in the living area.
Behind the scenes this kitchen is packed with all the latest technologies and appliances, including electrically operated drawer mechanisms, an integrated fridge and freezer with push-to-open doors, plus a special re-circulating extractor unit above the cooking area that cleans and deodorises cooking fumes.
If you’re looking for a new kitchen with a real wow factor, pop in and speak to Marianne in person at Kitchens By Design’s Takapuna showroom at 3 Byron Ave – she’s there most days between 10am and 4pm.
Takapuna showroom: 3 Byron Ave, Takapuna 09 488 7201
Newmarket showroom: 7 Melrose Streeet, Newmarket 09 379 3084
www.kitchensbydesign.co.nz hello@kitchensbydesign.co.nz
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