A modern farmhouse villa kitchen in Papamoa.
This was a full-house cabinetry project for a villa kitchen in Papamoa, taking in the kitchen, the laundry and mudroom, the ensuite and the bathroom. The house has real character, and the brief was to keep that while giving the villa a modern, minimalist feel throughout, one considered hand running from the kitchen to every fitted room in the home.
The kitchen.
The kitchen holds the character and the calm together. The cabinetry is a classic off-white shaker profile in a thermoform wrap, paired with a white engineered stone benchtop, so the palette stays soft and quiet. The island carries classic pillar ends, a nod to the villa's period, and it sits easily against the refurbished original timber flooring that runs through the home. Brass is the warmth through it all: brass tapware, a brass sink and brass handleware, chosen to lift the off-white without breaking the restraint.
Behind the sink, the benchtop runs out through the window as a jamb, so the bench and the view carry through as one unbroken line rather than stopping at the wall. It is a small move that connects the room to the garden beyond.
Beyond the kitchen: full-house cabinetry.
The same thinking carried through the rest of the house. In the laundry, the mudroom, the ensuite and the bathroom, the cabinetry keeps the off-white shaker language, so the whole home reads as one considered piece. I supplied the bathroomware from ABI Interiors, choosing the Kingsley range with a minimalist farmhouse handleware, so the fittings sit with the villa's character while holding that modern, restrained look. Designing every fitted room together, rather than one at a time, is what lets a house feel resolved from end to end.
The look: traditional, pared back.
The look is traditional villa, pared back. Everything here has a traditional root, the shaker cabinetry, the pillar-ended island, the brass, the black-and-white tile-look flooring, but each is chosen in its quietest, least ornate form. The brass handleware is simple rather than decorative, the tapware is a sleek take on a traditional shape, and the white shaker profile keeps the cabinetry calm. It is a way of honouring the villa without tipping into pastiche.
The white engineered stone benchtop, carried onto the island's traditional pillar ends, holds the palette light and lets the character pieces do the talking. The classic black-and-white tile-look flooring grounds the rooms with a period note, while the warmth comes back through the accessories: old timber pieces with real detail, layered in so the home feels collected rather than decorated. The result is minimalist and current, but unmistakably a villa.
Character kept, brought up to date.
The result is a villa that feels modern and minimalist without losing what makes it a villa. The refurbished timber floors, the pillar-ended island and the brass warmth keep it grounded in the home's character, while the off-white shaker and stone keep it calm and current. It is a house that works as one, from the kitchen to the last drawer in the bathroom. This is one of my Papamoa kitchens. See more on working with a kitchen designer in Papamoa.
STYLE
Modern farmhouse, in a character villa.
MATERIALS & FINISHES
The benchtop is engineered stone in Uniquartz White Sand, polished, with a pencil arris edge detail. The island sits on wider-profile pillar ends, which add character and carry the villa's period through. The cabinetry is thermoform in an Opticoat Alabama profile, finished in Marshmallow satin. Handleware is ABI Kingsley in brass through the kitchen, with ABI Camille farmhouse handleware in the bathroom, and brass tapware and a brass sink carrying the warmth through. Storage runs on Blum Merivobox hardware, and the original timber flooring was refurbished throughout.
BUILDER
NZF Construction Limited. Maketu.
If you are planning a kitchen in a character home, or a renovation where the whole house needs to work together the way it does here, that is the place to start. There is no pressure in it, just a conversation about how you live and what you are hoping to achieve.
Common Questions.
Can you put a modern kitchen into a villa without losing its character?
Yes, and it is one of the projects a home-first approach is made for. A villa has proportions, detailing and a way of living that are worth keeping, so the kitchen is designed to work with the home rather than laid over the top of it. The aim is a kitchen that functions for how you live now while the villa still feels like itself, so the two read as one considered whole rather than old house, new box.
How do you make a new kitchen sit right in a period home?
It comes down to proportion and restraint. Cabinetry scale, the height of the joinery against the villa's ceilings, the profile of the doors, the hardware and the palette are all chosen to sit comfortably with the home's era rather than fight it. Done well, the kitchen feels like it could have always been there, which is the point of designing to the house rather than to a trend.
What are the challenges of renovating a villa kitchen?
Older homes were rarely built with the kitchen we live in today, so the work is usually about layout, storage and services. Original villa kitchens tend to be small and closed off, walls and floors are rarely square, and plumbing and wiring often need thought. The design resolves all of that quietly, so you gain the function and storage of a modern kitchen without stripping out the character that made you love the home.
Do you design kitchens in Papamoa and across the Bay of Plenty?
Yes. Design Suite designs kitchens throughout the Bay of Plenty and the wider Waikato, coming to the home to design from the actual space and the way the household lives.