Heart & Soul: Jenny Holmes shares her award-winning approach to kitchen design.
With views across the harbour to Pauanui, this award-winning kitchen in Tairua is elegant and elevating, without competing with its stunning outlook.
From the rolling landscapes of the Waikato region, Jenny Holmes of Design Marked, is quietly redefining what it means to design a kitchen. Her spaces are less about fleeting trends and more about creating something that feels deeply lived-in, welcoming and uniquely tailored to each family. With a career rooted in hands-on experience and a philosophy shaped by both practicality and poetry, Jenny’s work feels like the design equivalent of a warm embrace. Jenny started her career at a joinery company where she immersed herself in the nuts and bolts of how kitchens come together — learning the craft from the inside out. This early foundation became her superpower. “Function comes first, always,” she says. “The kitchen is a working space before it’s anything else.” Her next steps, forming a business partnership and eventually launching her own practice, allowed her to hone a design voice that balances beauty with utility. Today, that voice has won her national recognition and awards, including a standout Gold Kitchen Design Award for a Tairua project at the 2024 NKBA Excellence in Design Awards.
Jenny Holmes
What makes Jenny’s work feel so effortless is the depth of thought behind every decision. Layouts flow intuitively. Benchtop heights are calculated with ergonomic precision. Loading zones and circulation spaces are mapped like choreography. Yet none of this comes at the expense of emotion. “Great kitchen design is about making a home, not a showroom display,” she says. Jenny’s own life — full of cooking, entertaining and informal family gatherings — directly informs her approach. Her kitchens are spaces designed for connection, storytelling and the often messy, wonderful business of everyday life. Whether it’s a morning coffee rush, after-school homework sessions or a Friday night shared with friends, her designs accommodate the full spectrum of living. Her aesthetic influences reflect this duality between simplicity and warmth. She references Belgian designer Vincent Van Duysen for his mastery of minimalism without sterility, and looks to Australian studio Arent & Pyke for their fearless play with colour and texture.Jenny also admires Australian-based Hecker Guthrie for creating rooms that feel effortlessly lived-in. Materials, for Jenny, are storytellers. She gravitates toward natural stone with bold veining, solid-plate stainless steel for its understated industrial honesty and timber veneers that bring a sense of soul to a space.
With its clean lines, this kitchen cleverly combines the modern with mid-century influences
Textured tiles and narrow reeded glass often appear in her work — not as decorative afterthoughts, but as tools for creating layers of tactility and mood. In the Waikato, where light can shift dramatically between seasons, Jenny designs with an eye to how sunlight moves through a space. Capturing morning light and creating warmth on cold winter afternoons are constant considerations. “The lifestyle here is relaxed and genuine,” she says. “Kitchens need to feel the same way — approachable, functional but beautiful.” Her clients today, she notes, are more informed than ever and want kitchens that serve multiple roles.
This Mt Maunganui kitchen feels light, warm and welcoming — from the wide window to the colourful artwork, the stone pillar to the floating clear stools.
The kitchen is no longer just a place to cook. It’s where life happens — from children spreading out school projects on the island bench, to friends gathering with wine while dinner’s on the go. When asked about the latest trends, Jenny’s advice is clear and grounded. Choose timeless textures over bold colours. Let function lead. And, above all, design a space that feels authentically yours. “The best kitchens aren’t just beautiful — they’re deeply personal,” she says. For Jenny, the dream project isn’t measured by budget or scale, but by client engagement. “When clients come on the journey with me — when they’re excited, open and ready to create something meaningful — that’s when the magic really happens.”
