Some Personal Reflections from Our Clients

We LOVE hearing how much our clients are enjoying their new kitchen once they’re settled in.

While many of my clients have been recommended to me, here’s just a few of the numerous testimonials we have received over the years.

Mr & Mrs Yates, Remuera

We think we have the best kitchen in Remuera; not the most expensive, just the best. This is the third kitchen Toni has designed for us and, like the first two, it is fantastic. There are many small touches that add to the overall look and workability. It takes up no more room than the old kitchen but has a lot more storage space and functionality and every visitor that comes into the kitchen remarks how attractive it is.

Sarah Redfern & David Deavoll, Remuera

“Toni’s expertise in designing our kitchen proved to make the kitchen the most perfect workspace for our family. Every point she made regarding design pros and cons was right on the mark, from sink size, bench top materials to rubbish bins!

We have seen many architectural kitchens which have faults that Toni steered us away from and am pleased have trusted her exceptional advice. This included advice on where to make sacrifices and where not to, so as to achieve a stunning kitchen within our budget and perfectly suiting the needs of our family and the style and price range of our home.

After working with Toni and using our fabulous kitchen we have vowed to use her expertise on every future kitchen project we embark upon. She certainly knows her stuff - from design flare to all those nitty-gritty details to create perfection in the most important room in the house.

Geoff Snell & Anna Greenwood, Mt Eden

Toni is an expert in her field and she did a wonderful design for our kitchen in Mt Eden. A large space was transformed into an excellent family/kitchen/dining area. Toni showed good consultation, conceptual, visualization and specific kitchen design skills. Toni saw the job through from the first consultation to completion of the kitchen with flair and understanding of all the issues involved and she was a lovely person to work with. We highly recommend her to anyone looking for a quality kitchen design.

Steve Brown & Amanda Shribman, Whangaparaoa

Thank you so much Toni for designing and delivering to us such a stylish and practical kitchen. We were amazed at the long and painstaking care you took in the early planning stages, finding out every tiny detail about how we use the kitchen. The minute it was installed we saw how this has really paid off - every cupboard and drawer and worktop is positioned in exactly the right place to make the whole kitchen a dream to use. Everything you promised, you delivered; and we wholeheartedly recommend you to others who want a perfect kitchen too. Best Wishes to you and your family.

Michele Revell, Browns Bay

Toni Roberts was our kitchen designer and advisor this year and comes with my highest recommendations. Toni is a positive, fun and friendly person, who always has your best interests at heart. She is highly qualified and was able to advise us on structural changes which helped us to sort out our study at the same time as the kitchen. Toni has great vision and is creative and smart with her designs. We love our new kitchen. It is functional, modern, easy to clean and looks fantastic.

Louise & Patrick Cole, Takapuna

Toni’s creative talent and love of design was evident from our very first meeting. Toni made the process of designing our kitchen such a stress-free and fun experience. She worked “with us” rather than “for us”, moulding the design to suit our wishes perfectly. Nothing was ever a problem to Toni and every detail was given her utmost attention. Her professionalism and communication throughout the project was impressive. The result of Toni’s creativity is a unique space that not only looks stunning but is a joy to create in and compliments its surroundings beautifully.

André Lubbe, Mt Eden

It is easy to run out of superlatives when talking about working with Toni. She is fantastic! A delightful human being and an outstanding professional. Going into my kitchen redesign, I thought I knew exactly what I wanted to do and needed some convincing about whether to engage a designer. On a friend's recommendation I met with Toni and talked through my plans. I soon realised that I would be a fool not to bring her into the process. Her reputation as one of the country's leading kitchen designers is well deserved, and through her great, practical insights and sensitivity towards my original concept, I have ended up with the kitchen of my dreams. I can say with complete certainty that there is not one aspect about the finished product with which I am disappointed. In addition, it all came in on budget, which was an added bonus. In large part due to Toni's involvement, what could very easily have been a stressful, costly and, ultimately, unsuccessful nightmare was a very rewarding exercise and a lot of fun.

Sarah Redfern, Remuera

My new kitchen with Toni is even better than I thought and I had high expectations because this is my second kitchen with her! Her entire team are very cohesive and comprehensive; even a last minute decision to make a unit automatic Toni had sorted within a couple of hours! She will be designing my future kitchens no doubt - but meanwhile we’ll be enjoying the place-for-everything dream here!

Raewyn Worthington, Whitford

(Via email) All I can say is WOW!! This kitchen is amazing. I love it. I can't stop going in and turning on the lights and basking in the beauty of it. I have waited so long for this kitchen and I am definitely not disappointed. Love it. THANK YOU!

Anita & Maurice Gray, Torbay

I was really dreading the process of renovating our kitchen as I’d been thinking about it for 8 years! Searching the internet for kitchen design sites, I came across Toni Roberts and loved a couple of photos she had in her gallery; designs that suited my timeless traditional style. I came off the phone with Toni excited and animated as we just clicked and that was that! From then on we have continued to be impressed with her attention to detail and care. At our first meeting for example Toni had a myriad of questions that enabled her to understand our needs and uses for a kitchen space, who does what where and so on. The products and contractors she recommended and supervised resulted in such a quality job, a kitchen that I just love and that works so precisely efficiently for our space. Friends are even amazed with all the clever `extras’ that their designers didn’t suggest. Toni is a very talented lady, lovely personality, easy to deal with, full of ideas and advice and we thoroughly recommend her.

Zana Zarkovic, Takapuna

We worked with Toni Roberts on the remodeling of our old kitchen. All process from initial consultation through conceptual, detail design and finalisation of the project was a pleasant experience. She met us at our home listened what we hoped for and presented us with couple of options with great suggestions. Her detail design guided the work wonderfully and she was always available to provide advice as we worked through the multiple decisions for benchtop, backsplash and endless colour scheme. We appreciated references to excellent builders and trading people she provided. Time frame and cost was fully under control and kitchen is finished within our budget. Toni is very friendly and always professional, caring, very talented with her design, make a point of listening and availability. We really love our kitchen design by Toni Roberts.

Tania & Peter Reed, Ellerslie

Toni was recommended to us by a trusted friend, we thought we would do the usual thing and get the best of three quotes but after meeting Toni we didn’t need to look any further! Her experience as an architect and designer were exactly what we needed as we were not simply updating our kitchen but redesigning our whole living space. Our ideal was to move the kitchen all together. Toni spent a lot of time getting to know us to really understand our family, our house and our wish list - she presented back a few options for us to consider that incorporated not only a new kitchen design but also other ideas for improving flow and light. We loved her plans and took on all of her added ideas and the result …..the most stunning, high quality, functional kitchen (and more) that we could of dreamed of! What I love about working with is Toni …. well everything…….. - Toni clearly spelt out exactly how the process would work including detailed timelines so we were always clear on expectations – this was so helpful for lining other renovation work we had going on - The process from start to end was seamless and it came with lots of added benefits like being able to tap into all of her contacts for things such as lighting and appliances. - The team of trades she works with are superb! Their workmanship is of high quality and they all knew exactly what needed to be done, in fact each of them said “oh it’s a Toni kitchen, that means we don’t need to double check anything – we know she will have included every little detail”. Even the plumber who was worried that our under-sink hot water tap unit wasn’t going to fit, couldn’t believe when we opened up the other side of the island to show him the special spot Toni had designed especially for it! - We loved that she only ever presented a few sample options for us to select from (because she had listened to what we like), and always with cost in mind. This was really important as it took the stress away from sifting through endless samples and not being able to make a decision Further to having a beautiful new kitchen and dining - we also have a stunning family room! We were really struggling with finding a design for the fire in our expanded renovation, the fire companies couldn’t really offer much and with our beautiful kitchen in place we didn’t want to get this wrong. It was becoming quite stressful and time pressured so I ended up calling Toni for help, which she willingly agreed to do and instantly took away all the stress! She presented the most beautiful design, and organised the builder who we already knew to complete the work – the fire is now in place and it’s gorgeous! I have absolutely no hesitation in recommending Toni to anyone looking to do a kitchen - she truly is exceptional in her field!

Billy & Jennifer Bowden, Snells Beach

“It’s one thing to arrange cabinetry for a new kitchen. It’s another to completely re-imagine a space and improve the lifestyle of a family. Toni Roberts did the latter for our family – creating a smart, spacious design in what was once a small kitchen, hallway and bathroom - something we never thought possible. From start to finish Toni's vision, professionalism and positive attitude made us feel confident and comfortable in having her on our team. She understood how our needs for the new kitchen, laundry and bathroom in our beach house differed from those in our city home and tailored the design and her recommendations accordingly. It was a joy to work with Toni, who looked after all the little details to ensure our finished home was amazing! We’re now looking forward to many years relaxing in our beautiful home! Thank you Toni!

Scott Newman, LBP, Kitchen Preparation Company

As a builder, I have now worked alongside Toni for over 8 years on various renovation projects – from the minor right through to full-house renovation jobs. In my experience Toni’s kitchen projects are the easiest and most organized renovations for a me and my sub-contractors to work on. Having such accurate and detailed plans with specific instructions to follow to prepare the kitchen space, is a real plus. This saves me and my clients all sorts of stress, unexpected surprises and cost-overruns. Everyone’s happy! Toni has an overall vision for the finished product. This is achieved by her working through the smallest details before the work begins on site. If challenges do arise once the project is underway, Toni is only a phone call away. With her knowledge of the building process and architectural training even the most complex things are usually resolved over the phone… Although, recently she insisted on being on site for the installations of a 5 bulb pendent light to ensure it was balanced correctly. I enjoy doing quality work and I have learnt that if Toni is the designer, she will give her all to achieve the highest standard of finish for the client and I’ve seen some amazing space transformations over the years. I highly recommend Toni Roberts for any kitchen or interiors architectural project … if you want a job done well, once.

Beth Parker & Damian Gavin, Point Chevalier

We first met Toni at the Home Show in 2008. When we contacted her later that year about a new kitchen, she visited us at our home. A couple of hours were spent during that initial consultation looking at our existing kitchen and discussing what we were looking for in a new kitchen. What followed was a very detailed examination of how we used our existing kitchen, what its good features were and what needed to be discarded. We found this process very thought provoking and rewarding. We then discussed design options, possible new features, appliances etc. Toni came back a week or so later with plans for our new kitchen, adding features we would never have thought, or been aware of. We accepted her recommendation of a kitchen preparation company, a kitchen manufacturer and installer. In the first half of 2009, after further meetings to fine-tune design details, choices of colours, handles, taps and so on, the installation took place. We are very happy with our new kitchen and with the meticulous attention to detail which Toni brought to all aspects of the process, including the trades people she referred us to. (Home Show board) She has been a great project manager, attentive to our concerns and easy to communicate with. We appreciate the support she has given us throughout.

Ann Pearson, Arkles Bay

…absolutely love our kitchen it has made such a difference to every day and a huge difference to entertaining as you might imagine! Just had a couple of lots of people staying so much easier and enjoyable now! We know it’s the most beautiful kitchen we’ll have, such a blessing!

Phil Williams & Sulu Page, Mt Albert

Just a note to express our gratitude for the great job you did on our kitchen. We thought your involvement was at all times thoroughly professional while at the same time bringing that personal touch which can make all the difference in achieving an outcome satisfactory to all. We also admired your precise decision making and assurance of what features would look best and also be functional. We appreciated the ease with which you organised everything, from making sure we were happy with the choices made, getting Fyfe organised, to organising the installation process. Things seemed to happen pretty much like clockwork and we were very happy with your choice of contractors. We are quite thrilled with the finished product! Thanks again.

Carolyn & Brent McKenzie, Kohimarama

Toni has designed an absolutely fabulous kitchen & laundry for our home. She has been able to balance functionality with contemporary design to create a wonderful space for our family living. Her attention to detail and patience while we worked through her concepts was much appreciated. She was happy for us to be part of the creative process and always encouraged our input. Right to the end, her ideas were constantly refined and improved on. We are extremely happy with the result of our collaboration with Toni. We would have no hesitation in recommending Toni as your kitchen designer.

Dr Emma Parry, St Heliers

We employed Toni Roberts to design and project manage our new kitchen as part of a major renovation we were having to our house. We met Toni after a recommendation and found her to be professional and enthusiastic. She listened carefully to our requests and came up with a fabulous solution that incorporated everything on our wish list that we thought wouldn’t be possible. We wanted some bright colours and complex joinery and she took this all in her stride and was supportive without imposing her ideas on our plans. We would strongly recommend her as an excellent and talented kitchen architect with amazing attention to detail.

Grant & Yanina Slade, Herald Island

Toni has been a fantastic find. She listens to what the client wants, integrates her thoughts, insights and designs into what we were hoping to achieve. She delivered a truly beautiful design that has both character and is totally functional. We would use her great skills again without hesitation.

Christine Maud, Milford

A neighbour recommended Toni Roberts to me. I couldn’t have been luckier. She was very generous with her time and on many occasions would spend several hours going over ideas and understanding the way we use our kitchen and our family needs. Toni made the task for planning and building a kitchen exciting and easy for me. She has an imaginative talent and knowledge of many kitchen features that I was unaware of. She is meticulous with her detail. I now have more storage space and a kitchen that works well and is easy to clean. Toni produced several kitchen concepts for us to choose the one we liked the best. Not only did Toni design my kitchen, we have redesigned the entire layout of the living room. She was able to advise on structural changes that were required with the removal of a wall. Toni designed a beautiful office area that is very workable and attractive. Toni is creative with her design, organised and coordinated with the builder. Toni has designed my fabulous kitchen to blend with my 1960/1970’s family home. We are so excited to be enjoying the kitchen.

Graham Alder & Caroline Norwood, Devonport

The kitchen Toni designed for us is so intuitive; no matter which location you are working in the items you need are right there for that space. Also the kitchen is “Tardis” like as it feels like it is three times the size of the old one, even though it fills exactly the same foot print. Friends comment that our house now seems so much bigger and more open now with the new kitchen.

Michelle & Brett McQuinlan, Orewa

With an experienced and multi-talented builder partner, we didn’t think we needed a kitchen designer for our new family-home build on the Orewa cliff. That was until I saw a friend’s kitchen in Coatesville. I realised its more than cupboards and benchtops but a whole myriad of possibilities and functional aspects to consider for a home that we plan to stay in and enjoy with our two boys for many years. I am so glad we chose Toni to design our kitchen as I absolutely love it!!! Our kitchen fits so well with our semi-industrial design and textures within our new home, it is gorgeous, functional and so in tune with how our family utilises the space. As Brett was the designer/builder of our home he had a vision for our kitchen to have a raw steel frame and also to maximise the block wall in the kitchen, Toni took this all on board immediately and worked with this in mind in the design. Together with the cabinetmaker Toni came up with a remote-controlled, slide-down splashback behind our hob. That solved the spirit of our design to expose as much of the raw concrete block wall as possible; a key textural element of the architecture. Also the seamless ‘fit’ of the kitchen’s door and top surfaces, is perfectly integrated with our home’s natural materials. Another thing we did find - Toni is super organised! Her professionalism and communication throughout the entire process was seamless; we had scheduled timelines and appointments, knew what to expect and when and her pricing estimates were bang on. As promised installation went relatively smoothly, due to the amount of planning and detail that goes into the final drawings along with all the documentation for the various suppliers. And even now a few months after completion Toni is still in touch with bar stool recommendations and other accessories. In the end, we realise we have way more kitchen than we even thought possible. I can’t imagine our new kitchen any other way and people who visit comment on how beautiful and integrated it feels in the house. Toni and Julie even came in once we’d settled in and helped re-arrange a few things for better efficiency which was a bit of a laugh together … but so needed! Talk about attention to detail & striving for perfection! I can’t say it enough but I love it, I love it, it just makes our home complete!

Sharon Purdy, Ellerslie

Toni designed a tiny kitchen for me over 20 years ago, and I always knew she would be my choice for designer when we renovated the kitchen of our current home. When I saw an award-winning kitchen by Toni in a 2014 Kitchens & Bathrooms Quarterly issue I was very excited, and kept the magazine as a reference. I contacted Toni early in 2016, and it is a testament to Toni’s connection to, and rapport with her clients, that she remembered us, and fitted our project into her very busy schedule. The project grew from a kitchen, to a kitchen plus a toilet reinvented as a “powder room” and a workable laundry. After the initial consultation, Toni came back with “A”, “B”, “C”, “D” and “E” concept designs. “E” was the most ‘out there’ concept, and the one we went with. I am so glad that Toni was brave enough to put it in front of us. Toni ‘sees’ how you live and what colours and textures you want to live with. Every one of her recommendations was inspired, thoughtful or helpful, whether it was: a granite that she had seen previously, and was just waiting for the right client for; the wonderful manufacturers, suppliers and tradespeople that she has worked with over the years and built relationships of trust and service with; the use in her design of every bit of available space, without sacrificing beautiful design; her perfect selection of colours, materials and finishes; or her ‘accessorising’ choices. We could not be happier with the result. And we got a “Wow, this kitchen rocks” on Facebook! And did I mention that Toni is a joy to work with? Her enthusiasm and passion is infectious.

Kirsten Ford, Red Beach (Interior Designer)

I was fortunate to work with Toni in designing the kitchen, scullery and study area of our new home completed in Oct 2015. The design process was very easy and smooth - Toni's knowledge of kitchens and how they work is fantastic. Our kitchen has been designed to have a home for absolutely everything and is a pleasure for all our family to be in. And it is even better to look at! Toni's attention to even the tiniest of detail was so appreciated and the care she took to create a kitchen we will love for many many years to come, was unparalleled in our build process.

Rachel & Andrew Bull, St Heliers

We met Toni at one of her 2016 seminars and so loved her enthusiasm for kitchen design, she was the only designer we talked to about our project. Toni designed our kitchen-dining area and also spaces for our home organisation, drinks/bar, laundry and bathroom all of which have totally changed our family living and entertaining. We knew the overall style and function that we wanted from our spaces and Toni interpreted our general concepts perfectly, presenting us with options for surfaces, hardware and appliances that we love, taking the hassle out of what could be endless choices. We couldn't be happier with how everything turned out. Toni’s attention to detail was impressive! We really appreciate that all of our appliances, pots, plates, trays etc have their dedicated spaces so that every last centimeter of storage is used effectively, and it is now very easy to keep our spaces clean! Toni was also able to recommend a draughtsman and builder-team who she has worked with for many years which made the entire renovation go really smoothly.

Feel free to flick into my Houzz Profile where recent testimonials are frequently posted direct by my clients.