• Kitchens By Design's owner, Richard Cripps.

Thirty Years of Design Excellence

Kitchens By Design celebrates a milestone and a proud and illustrious heritage

Thirty years is a long time to be in any business, but to remain at the top of your game in the ultra-competitive world of design takes a special kind of company – and Takapuna-based Kitchens By Design can confidently lay claim to that distinction. More than that, it says with some pride that it was one of the pioneering kitchen design companies in New Zealand, having nurtured and trained many of the countries top designed since its inception back in 1988.

The company was founded by designers Linda Christensen and Lesley Waite, and was originally based in Barry’s Point Road, before moving across to the city, where it now operates a top-end showroom at 7 Melrose Street in Newmarket. Just last year, however, owner Richard Cripps – a Takapuna resident himself – decided to bring the company home to the North Shore, opening a fabulous new showroom at number 3 Bryon Ave.

“Kitchens By Design holds a very special place in the history of New Zealand design,” says Richard. “Over the past 30 years, it has won close to 70 national and internationally recognised design awards, including NKBA Kitchen of the Year and Kitchen Designer of the Year on several occasions. It’s a legacy we are all really proud of here at Kitchens By Design.”

Richard goes onto say that prior to the establishment of Kitchens By Design, kitchens weren’t given too much thought design-wise. “Mainly, they were installed by builders by literally screwing cabinets together and putting up what they’d done in their last job. There was no real design planning or principles, or even consideration given the individual spaces the kitchens were going into.”

“Kitchens By Design changed that,” he says. “It brought design to the forefront, where ergonomics, functionality and spacial design were all carefully considered. And that’s something we continue to do 30 years on.”

The company currently has five designers working out of its two showrooms, and offers a comprehensive, concept-to-completion process that ensures every Kitchens By Design client is involved and informed at every stage of their journey to their new kitchen or bathroom.

“We value each and every one of the hundreds of the satisfied clients that have come through our doors over the past thirty years,” says Richard. “And the fact that many of those clients are now coming back into our showrooms and asking us to help design their next kitchens is testament to the quality of our designers and services we offer at Kitchens By Design.”