The Magic Ingredient

Richard Cripps, the owner of Kitchens By Design, strongly believes in the need for good design in our lives, particularly in a complex, multifunctional space such as the kitchen, and that an important component of any successful kitchen is design itself. Design, he says, should be seen as the most important ingredient in a successful kitchen.

Kitchens By Design (KBD) offers the expertise of six designers, four of whom are acknowledged with awards as among the best in New Zealand and Australia. All KBD’s designers are professionally qualified and regularly attend industry events to keep up to date with the latest in materials, appliances, style and ideas.

Richard is keen to point out that while you may only deal with one designer as your kitchen design concepts are developed, your KBD designer is not working in isolation. “We are a team, and there is often cross pollination of ideas around a project as the designer works to meet your brief,” he says. “Design is also about relationships. A good designer works on building a relationship to find out what motivates and excites each client. Are you a baker? Do you buy in bulk or shop every day? Do the kids help prepare the meals?”

Good design need not be expensive. Indeed, in the long run it can offer considerable savings. In a kitchen, Richard points out; the cost of materials (appliances, cabinetry, plumbing, benchtops, lighting, etc) that go into a poorly designed kitchen is the same as those that go into a well-designed one. And he has testimonials from KBD customers whose custom-designed kitchens are still serving them well decades later.

“I think design helps us actually change the way we think about things,” Richard adds. “Great design is not just restricted to what’s on the surface and how it looks. It solves everyday problems. We design drawers to make items easily accessible. We incorporate good lighting design to help you undertake tasks. We use design to shorten the distances to complete tasks. For design to be successful a designer cannot be just artistic in their approach; they must always have a focus on the customer or user of the product.”

In short, good design is a wonderful mix of imagination and pragmatism, specifically tailored to each situation. “Our designers creatively bring great decorative surfaces, hardware and known planning principles together, to create not only beautiful one-off kitchens but kitchens that help bring friends and families together, fuel a passion for cooking or just simply enhance entertaining and socialising.”

If you’re thinking about putting in a new kitchen, Kitchens By Design is holding an exclusive Kitchen Design Day at its Takapuna showroom at 3 Byron Ave, on the morning of Friday March 22nd. Joining the KBD team of talented designers will be a number of leading industry experts delivering presentations on colour choices (Resene), the latest in appliances (Gaggenau), and your best options for benchtop materials (Cosentino). Tickets are $20, and are available from Eventbrite.

Kitchens By Design, 3 Byron Ave, Takapuna 09 488 7201 www.kitchensbydesign.co.nz