Before + After: How This Hardworking Yellow Kitchen Was Transformed For $60k
Interiors
The renovated kitchen features stainless steel benchtops and customised cabinets made by Cut Shop.
A new bench made from repurposed native timber allows for the central space to remain open, but accessible on both sides.
Electrical work by Lifted Electrical. Appliances by Fisher Paykel. Plywood supplied by Plytech NZ, fabrication by Cut Shop. Hardware by Blum NZ.
The main utilities were grouped together on the opposite wall.
‘I had tried a few layouts with a central island or other ways to use the generous 2.4 metres in the centre, but none of them really worked or added anything valuable. It felt like keeping it open would make it a very active and inviting space, open to possibilities, with children playing on the ground,’ Mathilde says.
A door allows activity to spill into the backyard.
The kitchen before — all sideboards and no dishwasher!
When Mathilde Polmard was asked to renovate the decaying kitchen in a family’s 1990s villa in Eden Terrace, the designer could see the owners had an affinity for the colour yellow.
The space was dysfunctional — only one drawer, no overhead storage, no real pantry space and no dishwasher. On the contrary, it had good bones, with a bright yellow pendant light at the centre, gorgeous yellow plates that were a family heirloom, and a kowhai tree in the backyard.
‘The client had also lived in a retro yellow kitchen when they were students in the Te Wai Pounamu/South Island and had loved it,’ Mathilde says.
‘At our first design meeting, I bought samples I had selected based on their existing home palette; a colourful and retro collection of art, objects and things like a pastel Smeg fridge.’
With this clear design direction driving the saffron-coloured joinery, Mathilde reconfigured the 13-square-metre space to maximise storage and inject personality in every corner.
One unutilised wall now features tall elements that required floor-to-ceiling space, including a full-height pantry, the fridge and freezer, alongside a new oven, stove, and range hood.
It meant the opposite wall could be reframed around the existing window into the backyard. Deep workspace benchtops and drawers were installed to creare a new workspace below the garden view, as a diving half wall was replaced with a bench made from repurposed native timber called rimu, which was also used to create the overhead cupboards.
‘It felt right using and celebrating a native New Zealand timber, especially in an old villa like this one,’ Mathilde adds.
The budget of around $60,000 also influenced Mathilde’s material selections.
‘As durability was key for this renovation, we went with plywood for both the carcasses and the fronts, and chose stainless steel for the tops with integrated sinks — a nod to the integrated stainless top they had enjoyed using in the previous kitchen,’ Mathilde notes.
‘Also going for very simple, but timeless tiles, instead of more expensive ones kept the budget healthy while still adding a nice geometric element to the space and tying in three different areas (bar underside, splashback and hob tiled shelf).’
Opting for a freestanding dishwasher and fridge over integrated joinery was also significantly more affordable and buying ‘stainless’ fronted appliances offered a cohesive look that matched sleek benchtops — which ended up actually enhancing the resulting aesthetic.
Mathilde says she’s most proud of the atmosphere of the refreshed kitchen, and how well it captures the clients’ personalities.
‘It’s colourful but calming, functional and spacious, with lots of surprises as you discover the space, and good diversity of material,’ she adds.
‘It feels like it belongs there. It’s new, but feels loved already.’