Fieldcraft’s very first install of The Frame Kitchen will likely be its most challenging. While creating the joinery was smooth sailing – it was specced, designed and built in a Tāmaki Makaurau workshop to the client’s exact size and style requirements – the journey to its Aotea Great Barrier Island home was multi-faceted. “It was flat-packed, then transported from a car to a ferry, then two boats and a truck before it was assembled on site,” recalls Fieldcraft co-founder Phillip Badger. “In terms of a test run, it was an absolute mission – but it proved the system works as intended.”

The renowned design-and-make studio has poured over a decade of experience and craftsmanship into the innovative modular design. “I wanted to create something functional, beautiful and sustainable,” explains Badger. “The modular element was driven by a desire to provide clients and designers with a useful tool that maximises flexibility.” Modularity simplifies construction and installation, and also reduces waste – which allows Fieldcraft to pass on savings.

Formed around a clean oak frame, the elevated design draws on Scandinavian minimalism, and Japanese joinery techniques and proportions. While this showroom kitchen features a thick marble top (note the luxe integrated butler’s sink) and timber-framed drawers, the design is impressively customisable, with plenty of room to spec up or down.

Different iterations could employ stainless-steel tops, minimalist veneer drawer fronts, exposed ply edges, pull handles – or other bespoke materials including fronts featuring furniture linoleum or Plytech HPL plywood. This aesthetic versatility means the modular system can be designed to suit a bach, bungalow or high-end new-build. “I designed the kitchen to carry a variety of aesthetics – to look at home in any house,” says Badger.

The layout is similarly adaptable, with unique configurations, kitchen islands, integrated-appliance cabinetry and full-height storage solutions. Fieldcraft provide a design service, or clients can work with their interior designer or architect. “We wanted to meet varying budgets and tastes,” says Badger.

The final driver behind the kitchen’s inception was Badger’s desire to minimise waste. “We see so much of it in this industry, so I’ve tried to design that out. As part of that, we created an ‘end of life’ plan for the kitchens,” he says. The strategy aims to lengthen the units’ lifespans by making them adaptable, so they can be easily extended, reconfigured or revamped with different finishes. Alternatively, they can be removed from one home and reinstalled in another with relative ease.

Or, in the rare case that the kitchen is no longer required, the internal timber frame can be taken apart and returned to the earth or woodpile. With its timeless form and adaptability, you’d suspect there’s little chance of it winding up on the fire. “Yeah, we hope not, but at least we’ve planned for it,” says Badger. Can’t argue with that.

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