Waikato

Making and selling gelato was a dream that turned in to a reality for two lovers of food and cooking.

A trip to Sydney, and its many delicious gelato shops, inspired them to open their very own here in New Zealand.

Now gelato lovers can experience a cool and funky space to enjoy a huge selection of exciting and mouth-watering flavours, lovingly hand created.

With ‘Funky and Fun’ as the design concept, this narrow but long heritage building was lovingly restored while still maintaining it’s classical charm.

Natural, rustic terracotta tiles are laid in a herringbone pattern which is then offset by the contrasting but trendy hatched pattern of individually placed 145mm x 15mm mint mosaic tiles.

Custom handblown, glass globe lights fitted above the benchtop enhances the natural texture of the composite concrete stone underneath. And solid oak wooden frames fitted around the menu board and reeded glass panel on the counter give off a fun, retro vibe.

Antique brass door handles highlight the Antique Willuna White cabinetry while the kick boards, also contoured out of brass, give the parlour a timeless but chic finish.

Finally, in the small but quaint dining area at the back of the parlour, solid oak tops on lacquered MDF bases provide seating and round pink speckled leaners cut out of floor tiles and held up by steel piping allows customers to sit and enjoy their frozen treats.

While this was a fun project to work on, the team was certainly challenged.

Tiling both the floor and the counter walls was a delicate task as each tile needed to be individually and precisely placed.

The venting in the brass toe kicks under the counter presented its own issues and modifications of the floor required extensive levelling due to the heritage nature of the building.

Needing to consider the age of the building, designs and renovations needed to be within accordance of the Heritage Building Act,t herefore our QS and Design team spent many hours researching and adhering to compliance regulations.

➢‘Funky Fun’ design concept in an existing heritage building.

➢Mosaic tiling and flooring.

➢Handblown concept lighting.

➢Antique brass handles and kick boards.

➢Solid oak framing and seating.

➢Steel piping and floor tile leaners