Why professional builders and designers choose PDL Iconic for their homes
Find out why professional builder and designer couple Brendon and Leonie chose to use PDL Iconic in their very own award-winning home.
Find out why professional builder and designer couple Brendon and Leonie chose to use PDL Iconic in their very own award-winning home: a modern black cedar home in rural Pukehoke, Auckland.
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About Brendon and Leonie’s home
A modern black cedar home with sweeping views across rural Pukekohe in Auckland makes a striking statement on its hilltop location, and a beautiful interior using stylish Iconic switchgear from PDL completes the package. This award-winning home was built by builder Brendon (from David Reid Homes Pukekohe) and designer Leonie Hamill (from Cube Dentro).
Brendon and Leonie have made the choice to use PDL Iconic products throughout their home as a crucial part of its aesthetic design and living experience. Both classic PDL Iconic in Vivid White and PDL Iconic Styl in Silver Shadow were chosen to complement the home’s design.
Why Brendon and Leonie chose PDL Iconic
A blend of form and smart function
A major reason why Brendon and Leonie opted for PDL Iconic was its blend of aesthetics and function. Brendon, a managing director at David Reid Homes Pukekohe, says the company uses PDL products as a key component of all its builds.
“The PDL range offers the perfect finishing touch for our homes. The styles and finishes available in Iconic, in particular, means clients can have switchgear that complements their interior and the fact it’s future-proofed and offers simple smart home functionality makes it an obvious choice,” says Brendon about the PDL Iconic range.
PDL Iconic comes in three designs to suit a variety of modern décor. This includes the classic Iconic in four different colours; the linear Iconic Styl in three aluminium finishes; and the Scandi-inspired Iconic Essence in two colours with rounded edges and birch timber detail.
The range also features Bluetooth connectivity to provide the benefits of a smart home without the need for any additional wiring, blending both form and function in one switch or socket.
Additionally, PDL is easily adjustable - the unique PDL Iconic base grid is easily installed by an electrician and the interchangeable cover plates can then be clipped on and off, allowing homeowners to swap designs whenever they like.
For Brendon, Iconic Styl is “the most user-friendly and trendy switchgear product on the market today. It adds so much to the ‘liveability’ of a home and is a cost-effective and easy way to make life simpler.”
Easy to expand upon
Aside from its base features, the PDL Iconic range is also easy to upgrade to add more functions. Brendon says clients are often surprised to discover how much PDL Iconic’s light switches and power points can add to their day-day life.
“They can have plates with USB charging ports to free up sockets, they can add Night Walk sensor lights so no one has to stumble around in the dark, they can schedule heated towel rails to turn on and off to save energy, and even control things like dimmers from their phones without having to get up from the couch,” says Brendon.
How PDL Iconic comes to live in Brendon and Leonie’s kitchen
A great example of how PDL Iconic’s stylish design really shines is in Brendon and Leonie distinctive kitchen in the heart of their Pukekohe home. Leonie, director and designer at Cube Dentro, designed the kitchen herself. She even went on to win ‘Highly Commended’ at the 2020 TIDA Awards for the kitchen’s design.
The kitchen is designed to be used while enjoying the panoramic views, with the sink and cooking areas both incorporated into the geometrically styled island. A practical scullery space is tucked behind the island to keep things clean.
Here, PDL Iconic Styl Silver Shadow switches and sockets are used to their best effect. The dark colour palette with brass accents complements the black cedar and joinery of the exterior. It also matches with the cedar used again in the range block above the island, in a window seat, and in a nearby feature wall.
Leonie says the sleek angular lines and darker finish of Iconic Styl in Silver Shadow made it easy to incorporate switches and sockets without detracting from the impact of the dark cabinetry. “The finish on the Iconic Styl plates was in keeping with the materials we used for the kitchen, and they have a beautiful, minimalistic look,” she says. “For example, in the scullery the hexagonal tiles are almost three dimensional, so it was about getting the power points sitting nice and flat, so they look good in the design.”
Not only do the switches and sockets look great in the kitchen, they’re also easy to use; with subtle light behind each switch indicating when they’re in use and stylised pictograms to make identifying different appliances easier.
Why switches and sockets matter in design
Brendon says switchgear design has come a long way in recent years, with the PDL Iconic range shows how a functional element can add to a home’s overall design aesthetic.
“Having more variety now is the key. Every kitchen is different, and we really look at the design and placement of sockets to enhance the space, whereas years ago they would have been hidden away because we didn’t have those options. If you had a black kitchen ten years ago, you would probably have had to have white sockets covers in it,” says Brendon. “Now, we can have switches and sockets on display and they’re easier for people to use and complement the rest of the cabinetry. They’ve come a long way!”
Switches and sockets, when chosen carefully, can both enhance the aesthetic in and bring more convenience to your home. At PDL, we believe switches and sockets are more than just functional elements – they’re crucial aspects of a design. That’s why we designed the PDL Iconic range with both form and function and made it easy for you to adjust for changing design aesthetics over the years.
Interested in having PDL Iconic for your own home? Click below to learn more about the range and what it can bring to your home experience.
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