Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Architecture/Design: Nicola Ross, Nicola Ross Design

End date: 2022

Material: Dekton, Silestone

• Colour: Lunar, Nolita, Poblenou
• Thickness: 20mm
• Application: Kitchen, powder room, family room, media room, Main bathroom and ensuite, Bedroom bedsides and built ins

When two busy homeowners, inexperienced in building from the ground up, needed help with their multi-storeyed new build, they enlisted the services of interior designer Nicola Ross.

Ross, who owns Nicola Ross Design in Foxton, started with the house plans, making sure the layout worked for her self-employed clients’ lifestyle. Once that was finalised, choosing materials and the perfect aesthetic became her priority.

“Creating a cohesive colour palette across the home was key to the feel of this project,” explains Ross. “They wanted to create a relaxed feel that was easy to live with. Creating warmth in spaces with a lot of hard surfaces was a key driver, as was making the most of its incredible location and the full height windows looking out over the ever-changing landscape.”

The couple, who have a small child, needed hard-wearing surfaces and plenty of storage in their Palmerston North home. Ross specified Cosentino products in no less than seven rooms of the house, for benchtops, cabinetry, bedside tables, vanities, a kitchen island and splashbacks.

Dekton, Lunar was the ideal choice for the open-plan kitchen, with its pared-back aesthetic of wood and warm greys. The carbon-neutral surface from Cosentino’s Industrial collection gave the materiality of concrete to the island, which can seat at least six diners, and to the benchtop around the adjacent cooktop.

“Whilst they loved the look of real concrete, the maintenance of it was something my clients didn’t want to deal with, so Dekton was a great choice,” explains Ross. “It gave us the ability to use it on the counters and wrap the island and wall in a way that could not have been achieved with concrete on this project.”

For a seamless look, Ross also specified Lunar to clad the entire wall behind the cooktop. “Combining structural pattern, and layering concrete tones created a minimal feel with a cosy vibe,” says Ross. “Keeping our material palette simple, we have taken the benching up the wall, giving great function and looking beautiful.”

Lunar also makes an appearance in the family and media rooms, atop custom-made cabinetry and built-in ledges. Thanks to Dekton’s high performance and durability, the surfaces will stand up to bumps and scratches, and be stain-resistant for many years.

In the bedroom, bedside tables and built-in cabinetry were fabricated in 20mm Silestone, Poblenou. In the main bathroom and ensuite, Silestone, Nolita was chosen for the vanities. The white and grey surface worked in both the light and airy primary bathroom, and in the darker, moodier ensuite.

“Silestone’s durability was a key factor in using the product,” says Ross of the low-silica product, which is manufactured with recycled water and renewable energy. “We found everything we needed in the Cosentino offering of products to achieve everything our clients wanted from both an aesthetic and functional point of view.”

Explore the full range of colours across Dekton®, Silestone® and Sensa® here.