Homes Archives

This seaside home has a heart of steel

Although this beachside kitchen has floor-to-ceiling sliding doors, the cantilevered upper level of the house stops it from feeling too exposed. Here, designer Nick Strachan of Athfield Architects explains how they unified the kitchen space and what motivated the decision to use rubber flooring. HOME How did you choose the location for the kitchen in this beachside home? Nick Strachan, Athfield Architects The client was always interested in having the kitchen near the beach

A warm, thrifty and inventive Waiheke Island home

This Waiheke house may look like a cold, metal box but inside it’s offset by a warm, wooden interior that garners inspiration from traditional villas A warm, thrifty and inventive Waiheke Island home The Beniston family home on Waiheke Island has no obvious street number. I’d been told to simply ask the taxi driver to take me to the “long metal house” at the bottom of Ostend Road. On approach, there’s no mistaking it. From

Fashion designer Emily Cooper’s 1959 Dunedin pad

Sam and Emily fell easily for the charms of this 1959 modernist home, which has remained virtually unchanged since it was built Fashion designer Emily Cooper’s 1959 Dunedin pad By the late 1950s, the idea of living in a modernist way was sweeping the globe. The associated ideas of mass production meant it was possible to buy plans in almost the same way you would purchase a pattern for a dress. This is probably the way

Bathrooms: a perfectly partitioned ensuite

Rare in New York apartments, this home has a large ensuite bathroom that feels both spacious and private. Here, New York artist Anthony Goicolea tells why this bathroom designed by Janet Cross is so successful. HOME A big bathroom was part of your brief for the house. Why so? Anthony Goicolea I love the bathroom. It’s the only room in the house where you can shut the door and people respect your privacy. I feel I

Kitchens: a century-old building meets modernity

The brief Richard Naish received for this Stable Lane kitchen was for a large, sociable family kitchen that, while modern, still fit the century-old building. A challenge was the low stud height, which was resolved with cleverly created storage space. Kitchens: a century-old building meets modernity HOME This was part of a redevelopment of a century-old building. How difficult was it to carve out space for a contemporary kitchen? Richard Naish, RTA Studio The existing building

Bathrooms: resplendent in black marble

This Devonport home by Bull O’Sullivan Architecture is dominated by timber. The clients’ brief for the bathroom was to create a luxurious escape from the rest of the house. Dark marble provides an enlivening contrast. HOME The rest of the home’s interior is clad in timber – why did you choose marble for the bathroom? Michael O’Sullivan, Bull O’Sullivan Architecture The ensuite is a masculine contrast to the sensuality and intimacy of the timber-lined

How a gentle renovation created a Nelson family home

Designed by acclaimed modernist architect Alex Bowman, this Nelson home was transformed to fit its new family while staying true to the original aesthetic How a gentle renovation created a Nelson family home There’s a side to architect Jeremy Smith that enjoys sowing confusion. How else to explain his delight when passersby stop in surprise outside his family home? This example of 1960s modernism, set on a plinth above a quiet Nelson street, has been transformed

Bathrooms: Pattersons’ moody palette

Careful lighting and a darker palette create moody intimacy in this bathroom by Pattersons. Davor Popadich explains how they achieved the intimate quality without sacrificing function and utility. HOME What made you choose a dark material palette for this bathroom area? Davor Popadich, Pattersons We wanted the space to feel intimate. Bathing being such a personal and intimate activity we wanted to scale the space down by using darker tiles and soft, filtered light. HOME How did

Kitchens: 1930s glamour meets family practicality

Kitchen designer Morgan Cronin has packed an extraordinary amount of living space into a long, narrow room in his 1930s home. “As a family we spend all our time in here,” Cronin says. “Cooking, dining, entertaining, the kids even do their homework here.” The living and kitchen spaces are linked by an over-cupboard almost nine metres long, but the kitchen is the undisputed star of the show. Cronin’s design concept was ‘Art Deco

Kitchens: a Mount Maunganui kitchen with a hidden scullery

The biggest design challenge for this former holiday home was to create a kitchen space that would accommodate friends and family preparing food together, without crowding the space. Evan Mayo of Architecture Bureau describes the decision to incorporate a scullery hidden behind folding doors. HOME Most sculleries are dark, tucked-away spaces. What made you want to incorporate one in this kitchen, and how successful has it been? Evan Mayo, Architecture Bureau At a holiday home you often

Kitchens: this coastal kitchen blends into its landscape

The kitchen of this hilltop home in Muriwai is visible from afar, and designer Bruce Messick of Avantgarde wanted to ensure it blended seamlessly into its landscape. The colour palette was carefully chosen with this in mind and a minimalist style favoured for the cabinetry and benchtops. HOME How did you choose the material palette for this kitchen? Bruce Messick, Avantgarde Because the house is atop a ridge, with large glass surfaces and visible from

Bathrooms: beach-house simplicity on Waiheke Island

The bathroom in this Waiheke Island beach house offers lessons in simplicity. Here, Julian Guthrie explains how careful planning and selection of materials can produce a beautiful result, without blowing the budget. HOME This is a bathroom in a beach house. Were you consciously trying to make it different to something you might design in a city home? Julian Guthrie, Godward Guthrie Architects This bathroom was decidedly a bach approach. It is entered via an

Kitchens: an elegantly crafted Auckland design

Taking cues from famous houses, Michael O’Sullivan confidently combined materials to create this luxurious, well-crafted North Shore kitchen. Here, O’Sullivan discusses the similarities to his own kitchen and how this contributed to the less traditional design decisions. HOME How did you choose the materials for this space and know they would work together – the timber ceiling, the onyx island, the brick floor, the glass cabinetry? Michael O’Sullivan, Bull O’Sullivan Architecture The timber ceiling and

Bathrooms: a Sydney bathroom with personality

A careful insertion of colour enlivens this Sydney bathroom by Pohio Adams Architects. The design also takes full advantage of the natural light offered, complemented by concealed and featured electric lighting. HOME All-white bathrooms seem to be a common default mode, so how did you break out of it? Chris Adams, Pohio Adams Architects Decisions driving the house design were about reflecting the clients’ personalities and an exploration of materials and how they would

Kitchens: a holiday home built for entertaining

The brief for this Whangarei Heads kitchen was to meld the indoor and outdoor spaces. Lance Herbst of Herbst Architects created two covered decks, offering flexible protection against the elements. The successful design allowed the clients to entertain 36 guests during the holiday season. HOME How did you achieve the openness of this kitchen? Lance Herbst, Herbst Architects The kitchen is the pivotal point around which two covered decks rotate, positioned at the opposite side to the two

A private space with hidden surprises

The brief for the kitchen in this Waiheke Island home was separation and a unique sense of character for each space in the house. Architect Wendy Shacklock divided the dining and kitchen spaces with cabinetry; below she tells how this private realm allows for flexible entertaining. HOME In this house you subtly separated the kitchen from the living areas. Are you not a fan of open-plan? Wendy Shacklock The dining and kitchen spaces are

Bathrooms: a shell-like space in Home of the Year 2013

This open-plan bathroom in the 2013 Home of the Year is a continuation of the fluid, shell-like overall design. Architect Gary Lawson describes how the bathroom can be both open and intimate. HOME This space is in the Home of the Year 2013. How does it relate to the home overall? Gary Lawson, Stevens Lawson Architects The concept for the house was one of organic, shell-like forms connected by a fluid open-plan space. The bathroom

This small home is enormously clever

It is often said that constraints are a vital part of creating good architecture – that without any limitations to frame a project, an architect’s task is akin to finding direction in a void This small home is enormously clever But when a building project is already up against the odds, it is surely insane to add another layer of complication. And yet, confronted by a tight budget and a steep, scrub-covered Wellington site that

Bathrooms: Deco-flavoured delight

When Maggie Carroll of Auckland’s Bureaux Architects decided to renovate the bathroom in her own apartment, she decided that the small space didn’t mean she had to compromise on style. She developed a palette of materials that refers to her apartment building’s Art Deco heritage, but that also have a fresh modernity to them. Here, she tells how she managed to bring elegance and a sense of spaciousness to a once-neglected room. HOME What

Artist Fiona Connor’s fantastic LA digs

The stripped-back living quarters of LA-based artist Fiona Connor allows her space to create Fiona Connor toys with architecture in her work, planting structural dopplegangers in gallery spaces that playfully prompt viewers to reconsider their physical surroundings. The artist rebuilt the frontage of Michael Lett’s former gallery space in Auckland’s Karangahape Road 15 times over for her celebrated work, the Walters Prize-nominated ‘Something Transparent (Please Go Round the Back)’. That was 2009, the same

Kitchens: a sleek Christchurch renovation

When Christchurch architect Duval O’Neill of Herriot + Melhuish was asked to renovate a modernist 1960s home originally designed by Ernest A. Kalnins, one of the main problem areas was the kitchen, which was small and cramped and didn’t connect to the home’s living and dining spaces. Here, O’Neill tells how he went about changing the space while keeping a connection with the home’s mid-century origins. HOME You were working in a mid-century house

Bathrooms: a Wellington bathroom with an ocean view

A Wellington bathroom by Parsonson Architects takes its cues from an amazing view. The palette of the sea and bush is brought inside by the blue and green tiles. Here, Sam Donald explains what they were trying to achieve with the design. HOME What were you aiming to achieve with this bathroom, and how did you go about doing so with your design? Sam Donald, Parsonson Architects The aim was to create a comfortable and

Clever design helps to keep this exposed bathroom completely private

The clients for this coastal Narrow Neck home wanted their bathroom to take full advantage of the views of Rangitoto Clever design helps to keep this exposed bathroom completely private This outdoor bathroom overlooks the ocean and Rangitoto Island and although the balcony is exposed to the wide blue yonder it remains completely private. Here, Sue Hillery discusses the surprising challenge of supporting a bath on a cantilevered balcony. This bathroom overlooks the ocean. What were the challenges

A classic white with kitchen with Arts and Crafts features

This kitchen renovation by Neil McLachlan of Neil McLachlan Design aimed to modernise the functionality of the space, and also bring it into alignment with the Arts and Crafts details of the rest of the house. Below, McLachlan explains how they opened up the design to better suit a modern family, while retaining a classic look. HOME What was your brief for this space, and how did you go about fulfilling it? Neil McLachlan, Neil McLachlan Design

Kitchens: Lovell O’Connell melds openness and intimacy

Ana O’Connell of Lovell O’Connell Architects believes a good kitchen should reflect the food culture of the people who will use it. This Wanaka kitchen acts as a command station for a client who loves to cook and entertain. Here, O’Connell tells how they created a kitchen that occupies its own zone but remains open and ergonomic for socialising. HOME This kitchen is part of a living and dining area, but it clearly occupies its own

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