Bold Gatherings

Kitchen Studio Christchurch North·Merivale, Christchurch·Kitchen

Justine Keyworth

Kitchen Studio Christchurch North

OFFICIAL RESULT

DNKBA Silver Kitchen Design Award

Outstanding Kitchen Renovation Award

First Time Entrant Kitchen Award

Bold Gatherings is exactly what its name promises: a kitchen designed for company, appetite and the soft theatre of people arriving with bottles, stories and nowhere urgent to be.

Project gallery

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Project story

Bold Gatherings is exactly what its name promises: a kitchen designed for company, appetite and the soft theatre of people arriving with bottles, stories and nowhere urgent to be.

Designed by Justine Keyworth of Kitchen Studio Christchurch North, the Merivale kitchen balances classic generosity with a clean contemporary discipline. Warm white satin cabinetry gives the room its lightness, while aged walnut oak veneer brings depth through the rangehood, open shelving and feature cabinetry. It is a familiar pairing, but here it feels fresh because the detailing is so controlled.

The material story has polish without becoming precious. Cosentino surfaces are used across the kitchen benchtops and splashback, giving the room substance and a soft stone-like movement. Antique brass appears through Archant handles and woven glass display panels, adding a small glimmer of ceremony. The Plumbline aged-brass mixer continues that warmth at the working heart of the kitchen.

This is also a kitchen with serious hosting credentials. Fisher & Paykel integrated refrigeration and dishwashing sit within a wider appliance plan designed for generous family living and entertaining. Blum hardware, Hafele detailing, Hideaway Bin systems, Laminex surfaces, New Zealand Panels cabinetry components and Panelform doors all contribute to the quiet work happening behind the finished room.

The scullery keeps the practical mess and movement in the background, allowing the kitchen itself to stay composed.

What makes Bold Gatherings successful is that it understands hospitality as both performance and labour. There is beauty up front, capacity behind it, and enough elegance in the details to make the everyday feel properly dressed.

Judges’ comment

The judges were incredibly impressed by the sophistication and confidence shown in this design, particularly from a firsttime entrant. The proportions, cabinetry detailing and overall balance show a high level of design consideration, while the kitchen flows beautifully around the architectural constraints of the space. Elegant, refined and highly accomplished, this is an outstanding result for a first-time entrant.