70 | JOINERY Burley Kitchens and Cabinetry T T Sue Russell The winning kitchen was a team effort, from design, manufacture and install to final photography. Napier based kitchen design and manufacturing business Burley Kitchens & Cabinetry Ltd are the proud winners of this year’s Master Joiners Award for Best in Region – Hawkes Bay/Poverty Bay. The winning entry is a custom-made kitchen featuring a striking combination of solid oak, matt black and gloss white cabinetry. We spoke to Tamsin, one of the Burley Kitchens designers, to find out about the business and what goes into the design, manufacture and install of an award-winning kitchen. Burley Kitchens is made up of a small team of designers, joiners and craftsmen with over 100 years combined experience in the industry. Each kitchen is made on site in their Onekawa workshop, giving them control over the process start to finish and ensuring the highest level of craftsmanship. The winning kitchen was a true team effort – from design, manufacture and install to final photography, the whole team had a hand in the project. The company confidently selected this kitchen as their only entry in the 2023 Master Joiner Awards. “This one just really jumped out for us. Everyone in the business was really involved. We’re very proud of the quality and design. There is definitely a difference between the cabinetry produced by master joinery craftsmen such as ourselves and the more mass produced options commonly available. Clearly the judges agreed,” says Tamsin. The winning kitchen is part of a larger home renovation which included the removal of dividing walls and opened up a long narrow space. This was the clients second kitchen project and she brought some clear design ideas to the table, particularly with regard to the colour scheme. Care was taken by Burley Kitchens to ensure the contrasting colours were well positioned and felt balanced and united within a functioning kitchen space. In the final design the island benchtop features two tone use of materials with Trendstone and American White Oak surfaces. The timber accent was part aesthetic choice to include timber in the island, part technical problem solving to extend the length of the island past the restrictions of stone slab size. A timber frame extends under the stone top linking the two materials and providing continuity across the 4.2m island. Picking up the timber hues, the decision was made to use Trendstone Cala Rio Oro with its gold vein, also repeated as a splashback. The complex project reflects the team’s high level of workmanship; with many timber details and varied materials requiring excellent accuracy. Asked how the design process plays out, Tamsin says establishing good communication and allowing time for the vision of a client to reveal itself is a vital first step. The collaborative process begins with either a visit to the clients home or a meeting to go over the plans if it’s a new build. After that meeting the initial kitchen concept and pricing will be drawn up and presented a couple of weeks later. “We know it’s really important to provide clients with plenty of time to consider their initial ideas and our role often is to gently suggest elements and thinking they may not have considered. In this way, every great kitchen outcome is a partnership.” The team use 3D design software to create rendered images that bring the proposed kitchen to life. “When a client can really feel what it is like to step inside their kitchen, look around, see how the spaces look and feel inside, it makes a huge difference for them and really helps the process along.” Once the final plans are agreed and materials selected the CAD system sends the information to the in-house CNC for cutting. From there the highly skilled joiners take over, undertaking the assembly and hand-crafted finishes to build the kitchen. Each kitchen is presented for viewing in the workshop prior to install in the clients home. This is a great chance to ensure there are no surprises. When install day arrives the kitchen is carefully unpacked and put together on-site by the same joiners who built it. “We understand just how important the kitchen is and we’re always thrilled to see the look on a client’s face when they view their completed kitchen, fully installed and delivering exactly what they wanted,” says Tamsin. Custommade kitchen picture perfect Yo u r c h o i c e Proud to Support Burley Kitchens and Cabinetry LAUNDRIES BATHROOMS KITCHENS RECEPTIONS HOSPITALITY 14 Bisley Street, Palmerston North. t 06 355 5971 www.counterconcepts.co.nz
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