The peacefulness of an alpine backdrop is magnified by a palette that embraces soft, natural tones and textures — and spaces that invite contemplation and connection.
Honey-mellow tones of tussock and mauve shadows painting the hillsides are every bit the epitome of place that Brian Turner paid homage to in his poems that were an ode to the Central Otago landscape. It’s easy to see how the 360-degree panorama seduced the owners’ hearts and minds. And to understand why resource consent insisted on a built form that was almost invisible within such natural beauty. “At one stage, we were using the arm of a digger to mimic a chimney flue, to ascertain how high we could go, without seeing it from the road,” says interior designer Lucy McBride.
Accessed via a long gravel road that winds through the valley to the fringes of The Hills Golf Club, the site seems a world away from the buzz of nearby Arrowtown. For the owners, this second home needed to feel generous but low-key, and there was never any doubt that natural wonders would take a star turn.
Architect Hamish Muir of Mason & Wales delivered a design that celebrates such connection. “If we didn’t have such severe planning constraints, we would have strung the forms in a line like a necklace,” he explains. As it is, the rooms circle a courtyard, providing seclusion and shelter but also a more contained footprint. A small opening on one side of the courtyard was intentional: “It’s practical so that you can bring in a wheelbarrow of firewood but also, I like the idea that you don’t feel trapped. That you could walk out into
the landscape,” says Hamish.
To the east of the site, three bedrooms and a lounge make up the guest wing, so the house can be self-contained for a couple or offer multi-generational living. As convivial as it may regularly be, the restraint of the material palette against such an immense backdrop absorbs it all with ease. “The clients wanted a cohesive feel between Hamish’s work and mine,” says Lucy. “It was important to feel a sense of luxury, but also to be cosy and homely.”
An insertion between the datum of exposed blackened steel beams and light oak flooring, the kitchen is quietly confident. Beneath cedar ceilings that pitch up to a band of clerestory glazing where the sky slices in, the 4.3-metre island is a monolithic slab of Tundra Grey marble. Its mottled tones pick up on mortared schist walls that act as an internal spine.
An overhang to one side is a casual area to crowd around, or a space for gentle awakening with a morning coffee. “It’s a charming spot that gets lovely light,” says Lucy. Close-to-black cabinetry in oak veneer disappears into the rear wall, while chunky blackened-bronze handles add elemental style.
The owners, who have a penchant for hearty meals — think sides of beef or a classic roast chicken — may cook here but are more likely to be drawn outside to the barbecue and smoker. The courtyard, set on a 45-degree angle to the living-room flow, and cleverly designed with no corner columns to support the joinery, is effortless to access. And with a wine cellar tucked alongside the scullery, the perfect ruby-red accompaniment is also on hand. Here Lucy designed V-shaped shelving in the same oak veneer as the kitchen cabinetry.
“With a central trunk, its form is like a tree — another nod to nature — but also echoes the herringbone flooring in the snug,” she explains. With dark timber and not a white wall in sight, this enclave on the south-west corner of the home is the ultimate winter-friendly escape, the kind of room you settle into. There’s a tan leather Chesterfield and wingback chairs grouped near the fireplace (and a TV for significant sporting events). A knobbly woollen rug, sheepskin throws and taffeta drapes add timeless balance. “It’s like sitting in a cigar room — a room you could disappear to for hours,” says Lucy.
While the magnetism of The Remarkables, with views stretching past Queenstown to Cecil and Walter Peaks, has undeniable pull, hunkering in has equal weight. For Lucy, who along with the design/build team was invited back for a celebratory meal, returning to the property meant she could experience her design decisions in real life. It was satisfying to see that hours spent measuring Tupperware and small appliances for the drawers in the scullery had paid off. “There’s even a home for the toasted-sandwich maker, which is useful for grandchildren who are toddlers,” she says. But her favourite part could well be the guest ensuites.
“I really enjoyed designing the vanities there.” A Silver Roots marble top (named for patterning that resembles tree roots) is the crowning glory. “To me it’s evocative of the braided rivers down here.” As guests unpack toiletries onto the half-height wall that forms a shelf behind, it’s just as she imagined. And it couldn’t be more perfect.
Words Claire McCall
Photography Jono Parker
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