THEKITCHEN
“Whenyourkitchenis inanopen-planarea,
youwantit tofitinwiththerestofthespace
soit is restfulontheeye,whileaddinginterest.
Ichoseanall-whitedesigntoallowthebeautiful
Calacattaengineeredstone(fromUniQuartz)
tostandout.I wasveryhappywhenthebench
wasinstalled– I thinktherearephotosofme
lyingonit,givingit a bighug!”Celenelaughs.
Eventhoughit’smorewhite,thebrick
splashbackaddssubtletextureandinterest.
Thepunched-steelpendantsovertheislandare
a realfocalpointandbringa cosyfeelastheir
brass insides reflect warm light across the walls.THEPLAN
CeleneandDarnellboughttheirlandinAlgies
Bay,ontheMahurangiPeninsula,in 2012
withoutevensettingfootonit.Livingin
Londonatthetime,thecouplewereexpecting
theirfirstbabyandlookingatlifestyleblocks
backinNewZealandsotheycould move
hometoraisetheirfamily.
“Wesawthisnortheast-facing,sheltered
1.1-hectaresitewitha beautifulruraloutlook
andit wasonlyminutesawayfromthree
beaches– onebeingMartinsBay,whichwe
love.Weaskedfamilytocheckit out,andmy
parentssaidtheycouldseeusbeinghappy
there.Thatwasenoughforus,”Celenerecalls.
ThecouplereturnedtoNewZealandand
movedinwithCelene’sparentstoallowthem
tosaveforthebuild.Originallytheyasked
theirarchitecttodesigna homethatcouldbe
builtintwostages,sotheycouldstartsmall
andaddtoit oncetheyhadmorefunds,butin
theendtheysavedforlongertobuildit allin
onegoandkeeptheoverallcostdown.
Thehousecomprisestwopavilions– an
open-plankitchen,diningandlivingarea
inone,andthebedrooms,bathroomsanda
secondlivingroomintheother.Thepavilions
arelinkedbya five-metreglasscorridorwith
uninterruptedviewsofthecountryside.
“Designingandbuildingourownhome
meantwewereabletocreatea placethat
suitedourneedsasa busyfamily,andwhich
reflectedourlifestyleandpersonalitiesand
willgrowasourfamilygrows.That’s been the
best thing for us,” Celene says.KITCHEN,SECONDLOUNGECelenechoseanall-white
kitchentomeltintotheopen-planspacebutkeptthings
interestingwitha texturedsplashbackandperforated
metalpendantsfromRepublicHomewhichcastflecks
ofamberlightacrosstheroom.Blackaccentsinthe
secondlivingroomincludesimply framed artwork from
online store The Poster Club.
yhg| 39H