Having lived on this site for a decade, this family, in building new, has landed the win — a forever home with grandstand views.
When Deborah and Robbie Sampson can watch planes coming in to land over Wellington Harbour from their living room, they know it’s a good day to fly. Happily, their home on this Khandallah hillside is sheltered from the wicked northerly that often buffets these great birds as they approach the capital.
Spectacular views are frequently the drawcard of a steep section. The flipside is challenging access. “We probably could have been on Grand Designs for the trickiest site,” laughs Deborah. Granted, vehicles slewing sideways off a half-formed muddy driveway would have made good TV, but lived reality was less entertaining. “We had to get the crane to lift a couple of trucks back on.”
The Sampsons decided to construct their two-level home here after 10 years of living in a cold, leaky bungalow with their three children. Long-held plans to do up that house were shelved when their builder convinced them that, for not much more investment, it made more sense to start from scratch. That was a lightbulb moment. “We wanted something that needed as little maintenance as possible,” says Robbie.
Clad in a combination of Lunawood (a Finnish façade that features ‘butterfly knots’) and non-corrosive aluminium, the dwelling has a smart, contemporary presence that isn’t too stark. Some 600 truckloads of dirt were manoeuvred down the dodgy driveway to carve out a flat building platform for the 300-square-metre home, plus a double-car garage and parking for a crowd. Downstairs, where there are two bedrooms, a bathroom and a kitchenette, operates as a self-contained unit and, now that all three children have flown the coop, the couple has full reign in the upstairs living zone and main suite.
Within the generous envelope, these open-plan spaces feel intimate and cosy. “All up, the living area is about 76 square metres,” says Robbie. “But there was a lot of back and forth with the design to ensure it didn’t feel too big when just the two of us were home.”
Even though the raked ceiling stretches up to four metres, the kitchen and dining, flanked by two lounges, is a cocoon of homeliness made manifest by American oak flooring and a ceiling lined in Canadian hemlock. Although these two neighbours may not be getting along well in tariff-land, here on the hillside they are the epitome of warmth.
Karla Devine of House Party Interiors was integral to the interior design, guiding the Sampsons through the process. Although they shared an aversion to pale neutrals — “Instead, we went for warm, earthy tones, such as rust, and greens and blues,” explains Karla — the couple had varying ideas for the overall look. “It was very much about navigating their different tastes to find a happy medium, which at times felt like marriage guidance counselling for me,” she laughs.
But she adores the finished result. “Robbie and Deb were a pleasure to work with and we will be friends for life.”
With Karla’s input, Robbie was coaxed away from an all-black kitchen to one that features nut-brown cabinetry. Unless it’s roast night, when his skills come to the fore, it’s Deborah stepping up to the hotplate. “What I love about the kitchen is it’s not too big; there’s just enough space to move around in comfortably,” she says. While she is sold on the great storage, Robbie is addicted to the magic tap in the scullery that delivers boiling and sparkling water at the press of a button. “It’s bloody great to have no sound of a jug in the living area,” he confirms.
Brass tapware pings off the black porcelain benchtop and splashback, and half-orb pendants that hover above the island pick up on the globular motif of the lighting also used above the dining table and in a lounge that opens to the pool. While it’s wonderful to have an amenity that attracts their children home to make a splash, it’s the great big pool that backdrops this landscaping that draws most attention. “Everyone is mesmerised by the view,” says Deborah.
An olive-toned sofa with velvet-ball bolsters in the seaward-facing lounge draws visitors to settle in and look out. Bringing in the colours of nature and playing with texture gives the interiors both ease and an edge. A bookshelf in the same finish as the kitchen cabinetry anchors this enclave, with display space that still has plenty of potential. “We always wanted a wall library where we could put stuff and change it around,” explains Deborah. “Then Robbie switched to a Kindle, so we haven’t got as many books as we thought.”
The serenity of green is repeated in their bedroom, in colour-drenched walls that bring the room to life, particularly at night. A smart-glass window to the bathroom can be switched between clear and opaque for a view from the bath. On weekend mornings, with the drapes drawn back and propped up on their velvet headboard, Deborah and Robbie like to lie in and watch the shifting clouds and ships as they come and go. “In the old house, our bedroom was downstairs and in the shadow of an upstairs deck. It was grim and gloomy,” Robbie recalls. In a southerly, the ceiling leaked.
Making the journey to this point has had its tough moments. For months while the builders finished up, they lived at one end of the upstairs with boxes for coffee tables, cooking on a portable induction plate. Now the hardest decision is which cosy corner to best enjoy the view from.
When their children first saw the old house on this site from the road, they were horrified: they said they’d never be able to bring friends home. Now, with the past three Christmases as hosts to extended family and a steady stream of visitors, the tables have turned. “Recently our youngest wanted to come and stay for a couple of nights; of course, they’d be welcome to move back in — but only after lengthy discussions,” smiles Robbie.
Words Claire McCall
Photography Adrian Vercoe
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