Queenstown company Unico Italiano is marking its 15-year anniversary as a nationally recognised design business specialising in Italian tiles, timber flooring, bathroom-ware and more recently designer Italian kitchens.

“Design is all about living and your chosen lifestyle and we have been dedicated to importing and supplying the very best of Italian products for local homes across Central Otago for many years,” says owner James Manser.

“As specialists in unique Italian spaces and surface design our Queenstown showroom at Terrace Junction in Frankton is the largest of its kind in the South Island.This year we had the exciting opportunity to add high quality Italian kitchens into the mix and the response has been exceptional.”

The collection of kitchens by Italian brands Miton and Binova are sophisticated, elegant and highly functional, developed with innovation by the parent company over the past 50 years.

“The passion and design that comes from Italy is second to none and the finishes on the kitchens is impressive.They are considered some of the best in the world, selling more kitchens into NewYork, Hong Kong, Toronto, Singapore than any other Italian brand,” says James.

“We offer seven general styles from Binova as a starting point and we have two on display in the showroom showcasing different materials, integrated handles, worktops and dynamic finishes. Each kitchen can be individualised by the selection shapes, columns, materials and nishes which clients choose.”

Unico Italiano’s Interior architect, Julia Cruz, is the first point of call for obligation free consultations.

“Julia has an architectural degree and majored in interior design, so she is fully conversant in CAD and guides clients through each step of the process. She uses the Italian factory software to create 3D models for clients,” he says. “For very large projects we can do fully rendered designs placing the kitchen within the architectural drawings to show it in its entirety.”

“Kiwis love to enjoy their lives and want to have fun and life balance that is reflected in their homes.”

“The kitchens themselves are pre-assembled in Italy so are not at packed and arrive ready to be dry fitted. People put a lot of trust in us to deliver the very best with plenty of fail safes, checks and balances in place.”

James says the kitchen is the heart of the home and the main issue most people are faced with is whether to start with the floor as a base colour or the kitchen.

“More often than not people actually want to choose their floor and then the kick-board acts as the delineator between the flooring and the rest of the look. Because we specialise in wooden floors we can assist with this kind of details and ensure the whole interior flow through the house works.”

“Kiwis love to enjoy their lives and want to have fun and life balance that is reflected in their homes. What you’re getting with these kitchens is something with love from Italy – which is a very exciting option for those who only want the very best.”