Industrial revelation

An artist’s concrete plans come to life in this modern, minimal kitchen.

This industrial kitchen calls for a double take. On first glance, the kitchen’s sleek grey walls and benchtop echo the modern Auckland home’s poured concrete exterior. But take a closer look and the ‘cement’ reveals itself to be something unexpected: 9mm-thick fibre cement board cladding painted with Resene paints and splattered with thousands upon thousands of flecks of coloured paint. What isn’t surprising is that this amazing special effect, worthy of a Hollywood movie set, was created by a professional artist Jeanine Oxenius. As one half of the duo behind furniture upcycling company Bye Bye Love, Jeanine is used to transformations. She and business partner Heike Rzehulek-Schmitt regularly change tired furniture into hand-painted works of art. But Jeanine’s ‘concrete’ kitchen and home are her biggest canvas yet.

“I’m an artist, so I know how to fake stuff – how to make it look a certain way. Nearly all the interior walls in my house are now ‘concrete’.”

The faux concrete walls and benchtop were created by Jeanine using a basecoat of Resene Truffle, followed by layers of Resene Stack, Resene Double Stack, Resene All Black and Resene Haystack.

To create the walls and benchtop, Jeanine first painted a basecoat of Resene SpaceCote Low Sheen Kitchen & Bathroom tinted to Resene Truffle over fibre cement boards. To create the layers of colour over the top, she used her fingers, sponges and a metal pot scrubber to flick and dab Resene Stack, Resene Double Stack, Resene All Black and Resene Haystack over the base colour.

“I did have a lot of fun doing it. But it does take a lot of time and energy to do a whole house! It was a big job but I absolutely love it. I basically treated my house like a huge work of art – it’s certainly the biggest I’ve ever done!” says Jeanine.

In Jeanine’s Words

What’s your favourite part of your kitchen?

Jeanine Oxenius: The kitchen bench is my favourite part but I hate my black sink because it is impossible to keep clean (but it looks great).

What’s your cooking style?

Jeanine Oxenius: We love the Thai and Italian cooking style. We are ‘mostlyterians’ (vegetarians who eat meat at times) and many delicious vegetables have lost their lives on my favourite bench. Our favourite dish to cook is pad thai with crispy tofu.

What recipe are you most eager to cook from this issue of dish?

Jeanine Oxenius: The Lots of Winter Greens and Almond Pesto with Pasta (page 118) sounds divine!

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