Greenhill - homestead kitchen

Christine E. Pullar, Architectural Designer

A thoughtful, environmentally - conscious renovation, celebrating ‘hearth and home’ in a traditional setting.

The challenge was to recreate a warm, functional, and ecologically-friendly kitchen space in a 120 year old homestead at the heart of a 215 acre sustainable working farm.

The creative solution

Evolutionary design (over 16 years) of a beautiful and highly liveable kitchen that transforms wood, water and food gathered from the farm into energy to nurture the house and its inhabitants. Crafted from re-used and durable materials, it is part of an ongoing legacy - passed down to future generations of landowners.

The sustainable design features

Structural re-use and existing space retro-fit – designed to capitalise on site resources, regional history, and climate.
Extensive use of recycled and reused materials and fittings - granite bench tops rescued from a building façade; Rimu timbers retrieved from local demolition;
Functional design centred on energy self-sufficiency and efficiency via:
Use of a wood-fuelled Aga Rayburn stove for water heating, central heating and cooking (used 8 months of the year).
Careful kitchen placement (in the coldest part of house) to maximise operational potential of the stove.
Extra-high levels of insulation throughout to minimise energy losses.
Use of sustainable local materials throughout. Cabinetry crafted by local contractors from sustainably-harvested timber from the farm. Involving local craftspeople helped support the community and ensured a smaller construction footprint.
Creation of a sustainable social space, with traditional values and functionality a priority (e.g. the recycled ‘long trestle’ oak table that forms a gathering place for family and farm meetings and community learning).
Eclectic mixture of locally available and recycled joinery timbers: Macrocarpa and Kahikatea cabinetry, beams and posts constructed on-site from farm-milled trees. Rimu pantry crafted locally from redundant shelving and framing timbers from the original Greenhill homestead and the old Ashhurst Post Office.