Whilst the country has spent the past six weeks confined to barracks, it is inevitable that many of us will have put our homes under the microscope, discovering things that really should be fixed or changed all together.
Small things that normally wouldn’t bother us have now become obsessions – the cupboard doors that don’t shut properly or line up, the complete lack of organisation in the drawers, the seemingly random temperature the oven decides to set itself to, the extractor fan that sounds like a tractor – ditto the fridge. Talking of fridges, we have now all discovered that a wine fridge is no longer a nice-to-have – it’s a necessity.
The flipside to the frustration of being locked down, is that it has been a perfect time to plan for the future – to be creative and productive. And that’s certainly been the attitude adopted by the team at Kitchens By Design, who have kept working with their clients all though this current situation.
Owner Richard Cripps says lockdown has certainly added another dimension and an extra layer of complexity to the designing process, but it has also been fun discovering new ways of working with and collaborating with their clients.
“What this situation has really highlighted is the importance and the power of sites like Pinterest and Instagram, where our clients can share and discuss and make decisions on almost every aspect of their new kitchen design. They were useful tools before the shutdown, but they’ve now become essential.”
Richard has also been amazed how easily they have been able to continue to build on relationships with their clients using the likes of Zoom and Skype. However, one of the biggest challenges has been measuring existing spaces, but once again with the use of video-calling apps, he says his team have been able to walk their clients through the process – and his team will re-check these when we are back at Level 2 or Level 1, whichever allows his designers to visit his clients’ homes once again.
The one thing he says hasn’t changed – and if anything has been made clearer by this whole situation – is that kitchens continue to be the heart of our homes, and that a well designed space that is aesthetically pleasing comes into its own when we need to spend long periods at home with our families, or use as a shared workspace.
If you’re thinking about putting in a new kitchen, give one of the team at Kitchens By Design a call, or pop into their Auckland-based showroom at 3 Byron Avenue, Takapuna, T: 09 488 7201. And for inspiration, take a look at their website at www.kitchensbydesign.co.nz