Media release October 25 2006

Milan kitchen flair unveiled at Canterbury Home Show

The strongest kitchen and bathroom styles to emerge from the massive Milan Furniture Fair in Italy will be highlighted at the Canterbury Home Show, when it kicks off at the Westpac Centre in Christchurch on Friday.

Award-winning designer Ingrid Geldof, of the National Kitchen and Bathroom Association (NKBA), has recently visited the Eurocucina part of the fair, where even three days of intense scrutiny were not enough to cover all the kitchen and bathrooms that were showcased in 20 enormous halls. She said the overwhelming theme was the use of white, stainless steel, timber and some black for kitchens.

"The style is very minimal with a lot of texture and gloss ­ highly grained timbers and high gloss finishes. The shapes of the kitchens are simple ­ a back wall of joinery and then an island with a sink and the hob.

"The look is really minimalist and doesn¹t always work particularly well for New Zealanders because we like kitchens that are more comprehensive."

She said events like Milan were hugely beneficial for designers because they picked up "a feast of ideas" that could be developed into something worthwhile for their clients. Almost every innovation is either available or could be adapted for use in New Zealand, she said.

At the Canterbury Home Show, Ingrid Geldof will be running seminars to discuss how latest European styles can be used in Canterbury homes. She will show photographs taken on her recent Milan trip.

She said it remains crucial for those looking for new kitchen and bathroom ideas to work closely with well-qualified designers. "We spend a lot of time in those two rooms, and if something doesn¹t function well, it will continue to annoy us every day."

Kitchens are the most popular target for Canterbury Home Show visitors. As well as the home design seminars, people will be able to inspect kitchens set up by four local companies. They are among 250 businesses that will occupy the Westpac Centre in Addington. The NKBA is displaying the entries and winners of this year¹s kitchen and bathroom design awards in the Westpac Centre¹s foyer.

The event, now in its 28th year, also covers new trends in cooking, building products, landscaping, wine tasting and a Sewing, Stitching and Handcraft show. A new attraction this year is the garden/outdoor pavilion, which will include a display of exotic carnivorous plants.

Canterbury Home Show exhibitors have come from as far afield as Northland, Auckland, Hamilton, Wanaka and Dunedin to display their products. As well as kitchen trends, the free home design seminars will cover topics as diverse as creating a sustainable home that won¹t cost the earth, and an insider¹s guide to property values.

Prize packages are also on offer with visitors in the running for a $20,000 backyard makeover and $10,000 worth of bathroom product vouchers. The show runs through till 6pm, Sunday October 29.

Hours: Friday October 27 10am till 8pm; Saturday and Sunday 10am till 6pm Admission: Adults $7, Senior Citizens $5 (Friday only), children under 14 free.

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