Creative Kitchens & Interiors are renowned for hand-crafting the highest quality joinery and furniture, which they achieve using qualified craftsman and traditional manufacturing processes.

The Greerton-based joinery manufacturing company develops and creates beautiful, bespoke kitchen cabinetry, interiors and furniture for a diverse range of clients.

Creative Kitchens & Interiors is New Zealand's and Tauranga's Most Trusted Kitchens five-time award-winner, taking out the accolade again in the 2022 Most Trusted Business Awards.

So what makes business owner Sean Wood and his team so good at what they do? 'I think what our company does well is we listen to the client,” says Sean. 'Each commission is a collaborative approach between craftsman and client.

'Often, a client comes to us – they don't know what they want [in a kitchen design], but they do know what they don't want. After our initial consultation, we listen to their ideas and incorporate their vision with our knowledge and design. It's a privilege to take them through the process and exceed each client's expectations. When we present in the factory through the final stage, it's an emotional moment seeing how thrilled they are.”

Everything is hand-made

Creative Kitchens & Interiors also stands out above the rest for their traditional craftsmanship, precision, and detailing. Every piece Creative Kitchens & Interiors makes is done by hand, by qualified tradesmen.

'Our kitchens don't come out the back of a machine – when we say everything is handmade it's because it is.”

Creative Kitchens & Interiors is also what it says it is – creative! From the classic to the modern, residential to retail and hospitality spaces, their skilled craftsmen deliver beauty and precision to every aspect of your design, and will easily work with your architect and builders to ensure a seamless process through to installation of your beautiful creation.

Every step of the way – from idea, to design, to creation and installation, there is personalised service and effective communication.

Clients even get the opportunity view their hand-made, fully-assembled kitchen while it's still in the workshop. 'It's literally their kitchen they are seeing in real-time. They can open cupboard doors, place pots and see how it works in the practical sense.”

Another key to their success is the Creative Kitchens & Interiors team-of-six's dedication to deliver beyond the client's expectations.

'From the moment a client comes through the door, they're escorted through the factory and personally shown how we operate and introduced to the team.”

One of the first questions Sean asks clients is: ‘Are you a cook or a chef? Or are you a ready-made meal type?' This is because a cook/chef uses a kitchen differently. We work on how they use the kitchen.”

Sean believes winning New Zealand's and Tauranga's Most Trusted Kitchens award for the fifth time means 'our clients are telling us we are doing our job right”.

'I often joke, we're a little backstreet joinery company in Greerton – well, we go up against multimillion-dollar companies, some with 50-60-70 staff on their books in these awards.

'At Creative Kitchens & Interiors, there are six of us. This win is about my team of guys who deliver on my promise to each client.

'As a business owner, to have a team like this is incredible – I just think: ‘These guys have given me this successful business...and to win the Most Trusted Kitchen Manufacturer of the Year five times in row as well – come on!”

Clients are cherished

In fact, not many Creative Kitchens & Interiors clients don't become friends. Two of Sean's mentors – one the CEO of a large construction company and the other a farmer – are past clients of Creative Kitchens & Interiors. 'If I've ever got a problem or an idea, I ring one of them. Our clients are not a number on a spreadsheet – they are real people whom we respect and cherish. These awards are a true testament to how we pride ourselves in business and deliver the quality to our clients.”

For Creative Kitchens & Interiors to be awarded ‘Most Trusted' Kitchen Manufacturer for New

Zealand for the second year in a row and fifth in Tauranga, Sean says is 'a representation that our clients have publicly thanked us for the quality of delivering what is essentially the heart of their home”.