Your layout for you kitchen looks really good and would fit well with the mixture of black and white cabinetry. With the lament bench top, we would suggest melamine (entry level cabinetry) or acrylic bench top, which can come in high gloss feature or matt. The matt surface would go lovely with your choice of bench top, and acrylic is also a affordable cabinetry material. Below are some examples of how Reno4u has incorporated both black and white cabinetry together, without making it to dominantly dark. We feel as if these examples would be perfect for your layout, and depending on if you want more black cabinetry or white you can go either way. This design above is an example with more black than white, can be made matt or gloss with different handles/splash back and wallpaper. With a u shaped kitchen similar to yours, however from the pictures you provided your style may include different design below the island bench. Another kitchen designed by us which shows more white than black, with a bar built in which may suit your design better. We hope this helps you, please feel free to call us on 03 423 9067 and we can provide a free quote for materials and kitchen design, and help you finalise your design further. :)

These houses were designed to look good from the street, regardless of what the orientation was for the Sun. Everything depends on your budget and how far your prepared to go. A friend's house in Queenstown faced the street, the toilet and bathroom had the best view of the lake and the Sun. They got a house removal Coy in, jacked it up put it on the truck drove out and turned it around and reconnected all the services. It then faced the North and West great views and warmth, doubled its value in 3 days!. I replaced my storage water cylinder with a outside gas one, picked up enormous space in our laundry. Another tip is to draw up your "dream" plan, then overlay it over the existing and see what you can really do, your then not influenced by what is already there, and often get a much better insight and removed from the existing. Good luck, its very rewarding and make it fun!

Hello Deb - sounds nice :) If you are going with High Gloss cabinetry this needs to be done 'perfectly' by your kitchen installer as gloss shows EVERYTHING. Just something to be careful of. www.cambridgecolour.co.nz elizabeth@cambridgecolour.co.nz

David and Tammy bought their 1970s home a year ago and have two sons. They are a young Air Force family and their dream is to become as sustainable and eco-friendly as possible. Since moving into their home, they have added a lick of paint here and there but have a whiteboard with over 70 items on the 'to-do' list! With an oven that didn't cook, a sink that didn't drain and a pantry with no door, this family was in desperate need of a new kitchen! The existing kitchen had good bones, but just needed some attention to design, layout and functionality - and that's where we came in! Fresh off the plane from the worlds largest kitchen trade fair in Italy, our talented designer Mark worked with interior designer Melissa to come up with a kitchen design and colour scheme that would "Bring Milan to Massey!" This gorgeous kitchen has matte black cabinetry, two gold accent doors, a marble look laminate bench top and black sink, tap and handles. The Before and After images speak for themselves! Before Before After After