WESTMERE, CENTRAL AUCKLAND
Scandinavian Kitchen Renovation
in Westmere, Central Auckland
A light, warm Scandinavian kitchen with a curved Corian island — plus two contemporary bathrooms and a custom laundry
Completed 2024
RENOVATION
Designed By
Cici Zuo
Lead Consultant and Designer
cici@superiorrenovations.co.nz
0800 199 888
Quick answer: This Westmere project was a Scandinavian kitchen renovation built around a curved Corian island, with two contemporary bathrooms and a custom laundry finished to match — a full interior update on a home whose footprint couldn’t grow.
| Location | Westmere, Central Auckland |
| Completed | 2024 |
| Scope | Scandinavian kitchen, two contemporary bathrooms, custom laundry, interior and exterior painting, flooring, full re-wire, full project management |
| Designer | Cici Zuo |
| Project type | Owner-occupier |
Why a Westmere Family Renovated Instead of Moving
Nicola and her family moved into the house five years ago and could see what it might become. It was solidly built, with good materials sitting under the dated finishes — a sensible base for a busy household of teenagers and dogs.
Time had caught up with it, though. The kitchen cabinetry was coming apart, and the bathrooms hadn’t been touched in years.
“The kitchen cabinetry was starting to fall to pieces,” Nicola said. “The bathrooms were really dated, and it was just time for a refresh.”
Like a lot of older Westmere homes, the house sits on a subfloor with drains running underneath it. That ruled out any major expansion — the footprint couldn’t grow, and in a tight market that wasn’t where the budget was best spent anyway. Westmere is a suburb where families tend to remodel rather than sell up and move on, and this was exactly that. The brief was simple: work within the existing walls and make every room better.
Why they came to us
Nicola had already been working with another renovation company. They’d done the initial designs, but she’d grown frustrated — not enough flexibility, not enough communication, and little clarity about where things were heading. Her brother-in-law, who’d had us through his own place, put it plainly: “You guys should get Cici around and see if they can help.”
Designing with Cici
Cici Zuo went through the existing plans properly before suggesting a thing. Honest feedback first, then fresh ideas — and we refined the whole scheme in our in-house Design Studio.
“She really added some value in terms of what some of our ideas were,” Nicola said. The trickier bathroom problems didn’t faze her either: “She was just like, ‘Yeah, I can — it’s probably not the norm, but we’ll work with it.’”
“Nicola came in with a strong vision, including that curved island. My job was to make it buildable, and to make sure the rest of the kitchen lived up to it.”
— Cici Zuo, Lead Consultant and Designer, Superior Renovations
Project management with Jacob
On site, Jacob ran the build. Nicola’s husband warmed to his style straight away — “he’s just black and white, yes or no.” No guessing, no spin.
Nobody expected it to be perfectly smooth. “We were expecting that — it was never going to be smooth sailing,” Nicola said. When issues came up, Jacob sorted them and kept the family in the loop. They were back in the house before Christmas.
The Kitchen: Light, Warm and Unmistakably Scandinavian
Nicola knew what she wanted, so this was less about steering her and more about executing it well. The look is classic Scandinavian — neutral whites, light timber accents, nothing shouting for attention. The drama sits in one move: a large island with a curved Corian benchtop and curved cabinetry to match.
That curve is deceptively hard to build. The stone has to be cut and shaped to a radius, and each timber panel along the base was cut and curved individually before it went in. Simple to look at, fiddly to make — which is rather the point of doing a custom kitchen renovation properly.
Kitchen specifications
- Groove side and back panels in wooden dowel
- Finger-resistant acrylic panels on 18mm MDF, in White Linen
- Corian benchtop, manually rounded on one side
- BLUM soft-close hinges
- Splashback in Navona Vein Candido Natural 60×120 from Tile Space
- SPC waterproof laminate flooring
“The stonework on that island took the most skill on the whole kitchen. There’s nowhere to hide on a curved benchtop — it either flows or it doesn’t.”
— Cici Zuo, Lead Consultant and Designer, Superior Renovations
The Main Bathroom: Contemporary, Understated, Built Around a Custom Vanity
Both bathrooms share the same palette and fittings; they differ only in size and layout. The style is contemporary and deliberately understated — quiet colours doing the heavy lifting, with a custom-built vanity and a stone top as the centrepiece. Small touches carry it: under-mirror lighting, and brushed-nickel tapware from ABI Interiors.
It’s the same approach we bring to every bathroom renovation we take on across Auckland — get the quiet decisions right and the room looks expensive without trying to.
Accessories
- Kolum 1200 three-door mirror with demister, in Washed Oak
- Luma-Glow 1200mm LED under-cabinet lighting
- Cross-assembly bench-mounted taps in brushed nickel, ABI Interiors
- Pixi tile-insert floor waste, 125mm, brushed copper
- Evoke CL100 NK seven-bar heated towel rail, brushed nickel
Custom walk-in tiled shower
- Custom-cut glass with a tiled niche
- Atley rectangular flush pull in stainless steel
- Wall-mounted toilet
Tiles
Limestone-look porcelain floor tiles, 600 × 600, in dark grey matt — run across both the walls and the floor so the room reads as one continuous surface.
The custom vanity (the star feature)
The vanity was built by us from scratch, then topped with a polished stone benchtop. It’s the piece everything else is arranged around.
The Ensuite: Same Palette, Lighter Touch
The ensuite runs the same materials and fittings as the main bathroom, with a slightly different layout. The tiles step a shade lighter in grey, and the accessories switch to brushed nickel rather than stainless — a small change that warms the room up.
A Custom Laundry to Finish the Job
The laundry is simple and hard-working: white acrylic cabinetry, a stainless steel sink, and white subway tiles from Tile Space. Nothing flashy — just a tidy, practical room that sits comfortably alongside the rest of the house.
What a Renovation Like This Costs in Auckland
Every renovation is priced to its own scope — the size of the rooms, the materials, and how much structural and services work sits behind the walls all move the number. A full interior like Nicola’s, with a kitchen, two bathrooms, a laundry, new flooring and a full re-wire, is a different job from a single-room refresh. Rather than quote a figure that won’t match your home, run your own numbers through our kitchen renovation cost calculator for a realistic Auckland estimate.
💡 Quick tip: A curved stone benchtop like this one carries a premium for the stonework and the labour, not the material itself — the radius is what you’re paying for.
Over ten trades moved through the house, with the hands-on work wrapped up in about three weeks. Because the family had moved out, they barely crossed paths with the crew — everything came through one person.
“Honestly it was incredible! The process was seamless. As we weren’t living in the house during the renovation we didn’t interact a lot with the trade team — we mostly got our updates from Jacob, as he was leading the trade team and was our sole point of contact.”
— Nicola, Westmere
The Result
A dated house turned into a calm, light, properly finished home — without moving a single exterior wall. Same footprint, completely different feel. That’s most of what renovating an established Westmere home comes down to.
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How long did this Westmere kitchen and bathroom renovation take?
The hands-on trade work was wrapped up in about three weeks, with more than ten trades moving through the house. The family had moved out for the build and were back in before Christmas. The scope was a full interior: the kitchen, two bathrooms, a laundry, new flooring, a full re-wire and a complete repaint, all under our project management.
What makes a Scandinavian kitchen renovation different?
A Scandinavian kitchen leans on restraint — neutral whites, light timber accents, clean lines and very little clutter. In this Westmere kitchen the standout feature is a large island with a curved Corian benchtop and curved cabinetry, which gives the room its shape without breaking the calm, pared-back palette.
How is a curved kitchen benchtop made?
The Corian benchtop was cut and manually shaped to a radius, and each timber panel along the base of the island was cut and curved individually before installation. It looks simple, but it takes the most skilled stonework on the whole kitchen — which is also where the cost of a feature like this sits.
What tiles and tapware were used in the bathrooms?
Both bathrooms use 600×600 limestone-look porcelain tiles in dark grey matt across the walls and floor. Tapware is brushed nickel from ABI Interiors, paired with a Kolum three-door mirror with demister, under-mirror LED lighting and a custom-built vanity with a polished stone top.
Can you renovate a Westmere home that can’t be extended?
Yes — and it’s common here. Many older Westmere homes sit on a subfloor with drains underneath that make extending the footprint impractical. On this project we worked entirely within the existing walls and still delivered a full transformation across the kitchen, two bathrooms and the laundry.
Did you manage the whole project, including the trades and the re-wire?
Yes. This was a fully project-managed renovation with one point of contact for the family throughout. We coordinated more than ten trades and handled everything from design through to the flooring, interior and exterior painting, and a full re-wire of the home.
How much does a kitchen renovation in Westmere cost?
There’s no single figure — cost depends on the size of the kitchen, the materials and how much structural and services work is involved. A feature like a curved stone island will sit higher than a standard layout. The quickest way to get a realistic number for your own home is to use our online kitchen renovation cost calculator.
Further Resources
- More completed Auckland renovation projects
- Real client stories from across Auckland
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