Meet Kate Blakeborough, the designer behind every Design Suite kitchen
I am Kate Blakeborough, and I came to kitchen design from three directions most designers never travel: a professional kitchen, a building site, and the study of how people think and live. It means I see a kitchen as a working space, a buildable one, and a deeply personal one, all at the same time.
Design Suite is my studio. It is small by choice, so that I design every kitchen myself, from the first conversation in your home to the final detail.
A different place to begin.
Most kitchen design starts with the cabinetry. Mine starts with the home: the light through the room, the way one space leads into the next, and the way your household moves through a day. The kitchen is then designed to all of that, rather than chosen from a range and fitted around you.
It is a quieter way to work, and a slower one at the front end. It is also the reason the kitchens still work in five years, when the early excitement has worn off and you are simply living in the room.
The background behind the work.
My background is unusual, and that is the point. It is also the reason my work is different from a showroom, and from designers who have only ever designed.
A chef, first
Before design, I trained and worked as a chef. A working kitchen teaches you things a plan never will: the flow between the bench, the sink and the heat, where your hands go without thinking, what makes a space calm to work in under pressure. I design kitchens that work the way you actually cook.
A builder's understanding
I have handled construction contract administration and project management on building sites, so I know a design has to be built, not just drawn. I design what can genuinely be made, coordinate it with your other trades, and hold the detail so nothing falls between the gaps.
The study of how people live
I hold a Bachelor of Social Sciences from the University of Waikato, majoring in Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Psychology. During that study I was twice named to the Dean's List of Academic Excellence for placing in the top five percent of the student-wide faculty, awarded the Alfred Marshall Prize in Human Resource Management, and invited into the Golden Key International Honour Society. It matters here because a kitchen is used by people. How a household thinks, decides and moves through a space shapes a layout that feels right to live in, not just to look at.
A qualified designer
I am a Certified Kitchen Designer (CKDNZ), holding the New Zealand Diploma in Kitchen and Bathroom Design. The qualification is certified by both the National Kitchen & Bathroom Association (NKBA) of New Zealand and BCITO, the building and construction industry training organisation. It is the discipline that turns all of the above into a resolved, enduring design.
How I design: function first, then character.
I keep the design in two stages, and I keep them deliberately apart. Function is resolved first, before a single material is chosen, because a kitchen that looks right but works poorly is the most common and most expensive mistake I see. Only once the layout and the flow are settled do I move to character. It is a slower way to work, and it is the reason the kitchens still suit their owners years later. The full two-stage process is set out on the services page.
Why this is the right kind of difference.
A kitchen is one of the largest and most permanent decisions you will make in your home, and it is an easy one to get wrong. The difference I bring is not decoration, it is judgement: the ability to see how a space will work, how it will be built, and how it will be lived in, before a single cabinet is ordered. That is what lowers the risk on a long-term investment, and it is what one considered hand, held from the first conversation to the last detail, is for.
Where I work.
I work with homeowners across the Bay of Plenty, from Tauranga, Mount Maunganui, Papamoa through to Te Puke, Pukehina, and Whakatane, and into the Waikato. I come to you and design from the space itself, because the home is where the design begins.
Common Questions.
What qualifications does Kate hold?
I am a CKDNZ-qualified kitchen designer, the recognised professional standard for kitchen design in New Zealand. Alongside that, I have a background as a chef, handled construction contract administration and project management on building sites, and hold a Bachelor of Social Sciences majoring in Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Psychology, from the University of Waikato, which together shape a design that is buildable, works under real use, and suits how you live.
Will I work directly with Kate?
Yes. The studio is deliberately small, so I hold your project myself, from the first conversation to the final detail. You are not handed between a salesperson and a workshop.
What makes your approach different from a showroom?
What makes your approach different from a showroom? A showroom starts with its product range and fits you to it. I start with your home and the way you live, and design the kitchen to that, then source the cabinetry and materials to suit. I also come to you, so the design begins in the actual space rather than on a showroom floor.
Where do you work?
Across the Bay of Plenty, including Tauranga, Mount Maunganui, Papamoa, Te Puke, Pukehina, and Whakatane, and into the Waikato. If your home is a little further afield, ask; I travel for the right project.
Begin a Design Conversation
If you would like a kitchen designed around your home and the way you live, the first step is simply a conversation. There is no pressure in it. We talk through what you are hoping to achieve, and whether a design-led approach is the right fit for your project.