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Masterwood Joinery finalist for prestigious international design award

Cromwell’s Masterwood Joinery is in the running for a prestigious, international design award for a kitchen that has already proved its world-class status. 

The Society of British and International Interior Design (SBID) International Design Awards selected Masterwood’s Queenstown kitchen as a finalist in one of 14 categories from across 48 countries.

Designed by Masterwood’s Stefan Sonntag, the kitchen already claimed five major awards at the recent National Kitchen & Bathroom Association Awards in Melbourne. 

“It’s a huge pat on the back and it feels amazing for the kitchen to be recognised after two years of hard work,” says Stefan.

“The level of detail from start to finish was huge, as we spent the first year just planning. It was a very involved project.”

The kitchen in a Lake Hayes home fuses Oriental and commercial chic to create a beautiful, cohesive space, which flawlessly interpreted the design brief of the owners.

Masterwood General Manager Jim Cleveland said he was speechless, but elated, with news of the accolade.

“To Masterwood, this is what the World Cup is to the All Blacks, putting us up there amongst the best in the world. We’ve already had multiple congratulatory emails and phone calls for making it this far,” he says.

“Masterwood is now recognised as a company of master craftsmen not only in New Zealand, but also on the world scene.”

The awards categories cover all aspects of interior design, including retail, public space, healthcare and well-being, residential, clubs and bars, office spaces and hotels, and finalists come from renowned design practices from around the world.

Finalists were chosen by a technical panel of judges which will account for 70% of marks, while the remaining 30% is via public vote, which Jim is hoping the local Otago community and the wider New Zealand design fraternity will support.

“At last our own little Cromwell is internationally known, punching well above its weight as we do here, it’s the Kiwi way,” he says.

“Please help us succeed by voting for Masterwood in the kitchen and bathroom category and showing the world just what New Zealand can produce. We need your support.”

Clean, straight lines, natural materials and earthy tones set the scene for the stunning kitchen. Heavy-duty powder coated steel box section legs support two islands, with an unapologetically commercial stainless-steel kitchen extractor suspended above the chef’s island.

At one end of the chef’s island is a cantilevered teppanyaki grill mounted in Ceasarstone, an engineered stone that is also the island’s work surface.

A favourite place in the kitchen for the lucky owners is the self-contained coffee-making area with sweeping views that include The Remarkables mountain range.

While many functional elements are hidden behind six-coat Ameron-lacquered soft close doors and panels, the owners were very definite about having as a ‘feature wall’ – in this case an impressive six door glass-fronted display cabinet.

This effectively distracts the eye from two pantry areas, one being a plumbed and fully equipped butler’s pantry. True to the Oriental theme, form and function are in perfect harmony in these pantries.

To get behind Masterwood Joinery head to www.sbidawards.com to vote before Monday September 9 at 5pm (UK time). Winners will be announced in London on October 25.

About the Awards

The SBID International Design Awards are awarded purely on the quality of the design, innovation, aesthetic and value-added to the project.

Each entry undergoes an exhaustive two-tier judging process by panels of leading industry experts for both technical content and aesthetic creativity. evaluating essential elements such as compliance with the brief, budget, health and safety and fit-for-purpose design.

The Public Vote is the final tier of scoring.