Bringing new life to homes for 35 years: MF Turnbull
Celebrating 35 years in business is something that Christchurch business couple Monique and Murray Turnbull can be justifiably proud of.
For more than three decades, they’ve injected new life into furniture, fittings, and homes, initially starting in 1988 servicing the furniture and joinery industries as specialist finishers of spray applied coatings.
Business has expanded threefold since then, and MF Turnbull Ltd now has three separate buildings, side-by-side, in Mowbray Street, Waltham, to help homeowners achieve their dreams.
Since those early days, the team at MF Turnbull has honed their craft in bringing furniture back to life, and also opened a dedicated kitchen refinishing shop in Christchurch called MF Turnbull Kitchen Renewal. Along the way they’ve built relationships with various local clients, including Advanced Joinery, R A Hale Ltd, Sydenham, Alsop Joinery, Fineline Joinery, some dating back to the late 1980s-early 1990s.
MF Turnbull Kitchen Renewal was established in 2018 following the success of servicing the joinery and furniture trades as specialist finishers or spray applied coatings. Since 1988, the team has further mastered its craft in finishing, coating, and repainting, and has added a dedicated refinishing shop.
“We are committed to help you get the best ‘finishing solutions’ for any job. Our experienced team will take the time to listen, advise and guide you to ensure you get the best result,” says Monique.
“When your kitchen is looking outdated, often the first thought you have is that you need to rip out your old kitchen and replace it. The reality is, kitchens from 15-20 years ago were built to last and are still functional.”
Working with designers, architects, joiners, and builders supplying to the new market, the MF Turnbull team are constantly using their expertise to help craft beautiful kitchens.
MF Turnbull use a simple yet effective process to refresh kitchens and homes.
Step 1: What’s possible?
The team can refinish almost any kitchen (or furniture) and make it look new again. Send them photos of your kitchen and they will provide an assessment of what can be done and a price estimate of the project.
Step 2: Pricing & planning
MF Turnbull will come and meet you to undertake a full assessment for a quote. They can also discuss other alterations such as removal of overhead units, changing a cupboard to drawers or new benchtops/handles.
Step 3: Remove, refinish, reinstall
Their specialist team will remove your kitchen and it will be prepared and finished in their modern workshop before reinstalling. They usually allow a day to remove, and reinstall and 10-12 days to refinish.
Refinishing, renewing and refurbishing kitchens is their bread and butter. However, they have the capability of refurbishing other furniture in your home.
Kitchens: a blooming business
When their business grew too big for one building, Monique and Murray Turnbull leased another, and then a third, all side by side in the same street.
Now, 42-46 Mowbray Street in Waltham is home to the three buildings that comprise MF Turnbull Ltd. All three buildings have been substantially spruced up and refurbished, the last of the trilogy completed in mid-2024.
“We are now looking forward to being able to supply our customers with an even better service,” says Monique, thanking customers for their consistent support. The newest addition started life as a warehouse style building, built in the 1960s. “It was in a bad state,” says Monique. “No work or maintenance had been done for 20 years when we bought it.”
The asbestos roof was replaced, and the building strengthened, and earthquake damage repairs carried out. Engineering design work was carried out by Christchurch specialist engineering consultants Lumen, and the work by Contract Construction. Staff were involved in the project, heading into the warehouse one weekend to paint the floors after they had been diamond ground
by Regis Coatings.
A number of Christchurch companies were involved w ith the renovation and refit. The warehouse walls were painted by Dyer Decorating, 027 2570 276, in preparation for the installation of the spray ovens/booths used for spray applied coatings, and three closed booths plus one prep bay were installed. Fluming for the booths was supplied and installed by All Steel Fabrication. All of the offices, meeting rooms and the toilet areas were stripped out, re-lined and strengthened, with new fixtures and fittings, plumbing and drainage, all carried out by Peter Hoskin and Tony Park.
The new windows and front door to the building were made and installed by Rylock Canterbury, and a new roller door was supplied and fitted by Canterbury Roller Doors. Making the best use of local companies and contractors, all the electricals for the building were replaced by Christchurch Electrical. “They were great to work with; able to change direction as we needed things done,” says Monique.
Fitting out the meeting room kitchenette fell to R A Hale Ltd, with veneered board and MDF from New Zealand Panel, hardware from Blum, and bench tops from O’Brien Group. Dyer Decorating also painted the offices and front of the building. “They are great to work with and we have used them before,” Monique adds. “We’d also like to thank Mirotone NZ, which supplies the paint, stain, and clear coatings we use.”
Customer testimonials
