One
Upland Road
Christina’s kitchen is in a 1906 Wellington villa surrounded by trees on a Kelburn hillside. As the house is unusually original in plan, details and finishes, she chose to restore the wall-linings and flooring the existing SW-facing kitchen. The room dimensions (3m x 3.6m) are a good size for an eat-in kitchen. In the location of the original window, a pair of doors were inserted to open onto a small courtyard. The proportions of the doors were based on original verandah windows found in under the house.
The ‘eat-in’ kitchen is cosy for cooking and for meals with 2 to 4 family members. The adjacent wide hallway is the venue of larger more formal dinners.
The original kitchen finishes were painted timber t, g & v panelling, scrubbed kauri bench tops and oiled wooden floors. In response to these simple durable materials, the Good Bones design used solid wooden for drawer fronts, handles and pantry door frames. While stainless steel was not available in 1906, the use of sheet metal for water-proofing was common. The kitchen design succeeded in respecting the spirit of the original house.
The pantry door-frames were customised using screens of linen and sea-grass binding. The sliding screens also prevent possible falling of items during earthquakes.
