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2022 Best Kitchen In NZ Awarded

The best kitchen in New Zealand for 2022 has been announced and it is breath-taking testament to design and innovation. The NKBA Excellence in Design SUPREME Kitchen Design Award Winner is Auckland designer, Natalie Du Bois of Du Bois Designer Kitchens & Interiors. Her “magnificent” award-winning space is a modern and industrial kitchen, designed for a family of five, and includes a butler’s pantry and a dedicated bar for entertaining.

Judges called the kitchen “captivating, in the true meaning of the word”.

“The mesmerising layering effect on the island cladding is exceptional, as is the super chic lighting and the soft veneer on the back wall. This space has impact, it is tactile, and it has been superbly executed. Features like the folded metal shelves, the island details, and the way the light plays across the layers are just delightful. It is incredibly difficult to be original in the kitchen space, but this designer has achieved this. Magnificent,” they said.

Du Bois selected a mix of materials for the industrial look.

“The most dominant material is the plastered concrete walls and the rugged concrete Caesarstone island benchtop with strips, in various sizes, wrapped around the back and sides of the island. This effect was designed to create a visually interesting central focus to the room,” says Du Bois.

The National Kitchen and Bathroom Association (NKBA) is the only members organisation for New Zealand Kitchen and Bathroom designers and its awards are a highlight for the hundreds of members located around the country, who include designers, joiners, suppliers, and manufacturers.

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Natalie Du Bois is an Elite Designer of NKBA and the award is just one of many she received on the night. In addition to the coveted SUPREME award, her incredible kitchen design also won her Designer of the Year, the DNKBA Kitchen Design - Elite/Platinum Award and the Auckland Chapter Recognition Award.

Du Bois also took out the NKBA Excellence in Design SUPREME Bathroom Design Award for a moody and textural guest bathroom that judges described as a play on clean curves and rough edgy elements.

Du Bois says the materials selected helped to build the moody and intimate aesthetic.

“Materials include dark burnished, metal-look, porcelain tiles and a lighter grey rock-salt porcelain tile which was specified to flow from the hallway into the bathroom and up the back wall. The freestanding bath has its own tumbled natural stone wall with a long recessed shelving niche behind the bath. The vanity top is a feature element, made out of Bengal black stone with specially designed grooves creating a rock edge,” says Du Bois.

Judges praised Natalie Du Bois for her execution to the highest of standards.

“This bathroom was a clear winner. The use of light has been well considered, and the finishes are luxurious with industrial handles and wonderful tap fittings. Exquisitely dark and moody, the designer has delivered on the brief. The rockface is a beautiful look and the vanity bench top with its raw edge is a dazzling finish,” said the judging panel.

President of the NKBA, Mark Bruce of Designmarked Kitchens, said that Natalie Du Bois has been an NKBA member for many years and is already recognised as one of the leading designers in the country, however 2022 will be the year she cemented her status.

“For one designer to take out Supreme Kitchen, Supreme Bathroom and Designer of the Year is a fantastic accomplishment and one that our industry of professionals holds in very high regard. Not everyone understands the complexity of kitchen and bathroom design, however I can assure you that it is incredibly challenging to create a space that is not only spatially aware, delivers on its essential requirements, meets the brief of the homeowners, and comes in on budget, but that also captivates the imagination and wows. New Zealand design is on the absolute forefront of world design, and we are proud to showcase the 2022 award winners,” said Bruce.

The full list of 2022 NKBA Excellence Design Award winners:

  • Natalie Du Bois of Du Bois Designer Kitchens & Interiors – Auckland.
  • Morgan Cronin of Cronin Kitchens– Auckland.
  • Leonie Hamill of Cube Dentro – Auckland.
  • Tracy Murphy of Vekart – Bay of Plenty.
  • Celia Visser of Celia Visser Design – Auckland.
  • Marianne Gailer of Kitchens by Design – Auckland.
  • Katie Scott of Sticks+Stones Design – Auckland.
  • Nicola Ross of Nicola Ross Design – Wellington.
  • Trudi Rabbitte of Rabbitte Joinery – Hawke’s Bay.
  • Sharon Dorman of Rabbitte Joinery – Hawke’s Bay.
  • Masterwood Joinery – Southern.
  • Angelique Armstrong of Armstrong Interiors – Canterbury.
  • Georgia Langridge and Fleur Jourdain of Modi Design – Canterbury.
  • Kate Carter of Kate Carter Design – Canterbury.
  • Larissa Breukelaar of Modern Age Kitchens & Joinery – Canterbury.
  • Robin Caudwell of Designer Cabinets & Kitchens – Waikato.
  • Anna Thomas and George Molnar of Bays Joinery – Top of the South.

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