just the ticket

From Habitat magazine - issue 18

A cool blue retro kitchen is the perfect addition to a bach that started life as a tram.

When your outlook is across a narrow patch of grass at the tranquil waters of the Firth of Thames, what better colour to paint your kitchen than a soothing pale blue Resene Comfort Zone? All the better when the slightly retro appeal of that shade suits the bach it sits within – which has been cleverly crafted from an old tram. Blue is also the owner Lynn Plom’s favourite colour and Resene Comfort Zone has also been used on the bach exterior.

Tram 53 last carried passengers in the early 1950s. It sat along with others in a paddock for years before 23 of them were moved onto a waterfront site on the western shores of the Coromandel Peninsula. Converted to baches, they are in varying states of style and repair.

When Lynn and husband Martin bought theirs two years ago, it had a hodge-podge of add-ons and water tanks. With strict rules on what you can do to the trams and how much you can add, they used the existing 67 sq m footprint but re-built the additions and rationalised the interior layout. It has been an “affordable and adorable” bach solution for a man who loves fishing and a couple who owns a busy kitchen cabinetry business, Elite Kitchens and Cabinets.

The kitchen has been kept in the same place but instead of an old watertank on the front wall, there is now a large window to look out over the sea. The previous owners left everything in the bach, so Lynn makes good use of old Crown Lynn crockery – “the cups are the perfect size for a good cappuccino.”

Lynn has used some clever design elements to make use of the space, and make the room appear larger. The end bench is narrow with no cupboards underneath, “because you lose a lot of storage in corner cupboards.” The wall cupboards above have sliding doors because hinged ones would open into the room and be too intrusive, and have finely ribbed retro-looking glass so that they appear lighter. Quirky asymmetric handles complete the look. Also, the microwave cupboard doors open, then slot back into a space beside the cabinet.

Other cupboards are fitted with various pantry systems. Instead of a regular rangehood which would protrude too much, Lynn chose a funky circular wall-mounted version from Hafele. A wall pantry was made only 450mm deep and sits on the table side of the door.

A bench seat is built in next to the refurbished 1950s-style chromelegged Formica table, because “bench seats fit more bottoms”; there is also storage underneath. “It’s a lovely space to be in. It’s raised up slightly so you feel like the water is coming right up to the house. And the sunsets are legendary,” says Lynn.

The shape of the retro-style Smeg fridge perfectly echoes that of the old tram door beside it. Above the door, you can see the end of the old tram roof protruding from the wall. The walls are Resene Alabaster. A strip of mosaic-style tiles in various shades of blue fits with the scheme perfectly and is joined by a glass splashback.

The benchtop, which is Laminex Caesarstone Mosaici Marrone, is made of recycled material and was chosen because it looks like old terrazzo. It’s inset with an ‘indestructible’ white Silgranit sink from Hafele. The flooring is a timber-look vinyl tile from Karndean. “If we had used sheet vinyl, there would have been too much wastage.” The vinyl tile is also used in the rest of the tram.

In all, Lynn and Martin have managed to make what they say is a “pretty flash” kitchen look perfectly at home in its humble converted tram.

Did you know...

The Resene Kitchen & Bathroom range combines anti-bacterial silver protection and MoulDefender mould inhibitor, perfect for minimising unwanted nasties in kitchens, bathrooms and laundries? Available in semi-gloss (Resene Lustacryl Kitchen & Bathroom), low sheen (Resene SpaceCote Low Sheen Kitchen & Bathroom) and flat (Resene SpaceCote Flat Kitchen & Bathroom).

That Resene tinters are non VOC, highly concentrated automotive-grade tinters so you can get your favourite colours tinted into Resene decorative paints without adding unwanted VOCs? The tinters are very durable and are exclusive to Resene.

Accessories: Bench: Laminex Caesarstone Mosaici Marrone by e-Stone. Flooring: vinyl tile from Karndean. Asymmetric handles: Hettich. Design and cabinetry: Elite Kitchens and Cabinetswww.elitekc.co.nz.

pictures: Kallan McLeod
words: Sharon Newey

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