2026/Tea House - Apartment Kitchen

NKBA Awards 2026Entry 281

Tea House - Apartment Kitchen

Du Bois Design·Parnell·Kitchen

Natalie Du Bois

Designed by

Natalie Du Bois

Du Bois Design

Tea House - Apartment Kitchen — kitchen by Du Bois Design (NKBA Excellence in Design 2026)

OFFICIAL RESULT

DNKBA Elite Kitchen Design Award

Kitchen Distinction Award – $120k+

In an apartment kitchen, every choice has to earn its place.

Project gallery

12 images

01 / 12Photography by Jackie Meiring. Specified: Blum, Hafele, Parex, Fit, Gaggenau, Hideaway Bins, New Zealand Panels, Zenith Water.

Project story

In an apartment kitchen, every choice has to earn its place. Tea House does that with a kind of edited richness: layered, tactile, and quietly exacting, without ever feeling overstuffed.

Designed by Natalie Du Bois of Du Bois Design, the Parnell kitchen works in a palette that is both grounded and unexpected. Custom olive-stained ash veneer brings warmth to the cabinetry, while the beaded timber drawer fronts add a fine, almost furniture-like rhythm. It is a detail you feel before you properly notice it.

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The benchtop is honed Negresco granite, dark and serious in the way natural stone can be, but softened by the surrounding timber and the mustard gloss of Japanese finger tiles. Brass appears as a considered counterpoint, used on the rangehood and leg detail, giving the kitchen a handmade note rather than a showroom shine.

The specification is also doing some heavy lifting. Gaggenau appliances sit within the architecture of the room, including Vario gas and induction cooking, integrated refrigeration, oven, combi microwave and dishwasher. Blum hardware, Hideaway Bins, Zenith chilled water, Fit power and tea towel rails, and Hafele inserts keep the working parts refined and concealed.

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Tea House feels less like an apartment compromise and more like a compact lesson in atmosphere: a kitchen with proper function, beautiful manners, and just enough theatre to make everyday rituals feel a little more deliberate. It is polished, but not precious; practical, but never plain. A small room, made to feel expansive.

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Judges’ comment

This entry stood out for its confident, richly layered materiality. The dark Negresco stone creates a striking focal point, balanced by the bronzed rangehood, textured finger tiles and beautifully detailed cabinetry. Refined, sophisticated and full of character, this highly functional kitchen shows wonderful attention to detail and strong design execution, supported with excellent documentation.

duboisdesign.co.nz

Project record

Entry number
Entry 281
Project
Tea House - Apartment Kitchen
Entered by
Du Bois Design
Designer
Natalie Du Bois
Location
Parnell
Programme
2026 NKBA Excellence in Design
Room type
Kitchen
Category entered
Kitchen
Photography
Jackie Meiring

Official results

  • DNKBA Elite Kitchen Design Award
  • Kitchen Distinction Award – $120k+

Official NKBA 2026 result.

Credits
Blum, Hafele, Parex, Fit, Gaggenau, Hideaway Bins, New Zealand Panels, Zenith Water