Speargrass House
Settled amongst 85 acres in Queenstown, Speargrass House blends robust elegance with refined practicality. Within, instinctive materials complement its bucolic surrounds that take in mountain views of The Remarkables and Coronet Peak whilst ably weathering the wear and tear of country life for a family including four active young boys.
- SCOPE
Full Interior Design, Custom Fabrication, Furnishing, Object and Art
- Architecture
Sumich Chaplin Architects
- Landscape
Suzanne Turley Landscapes
- PHOTOGRAPHY
Anson Smart
- Awards
Winner 2023 NZ HOME Interior of the Year Awards Kitchen of the Year and Resene Colour Award
Winner 2023 Interior Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) International
Finalist 2023 Belle Fanuli Interior Design Awards Best Residential Interior
Our challenge was to conceive a forever home inside the new steel, Schist stone and timber weatherboard, avoiding the clichéd trappings of a country escape. Beneath soaring pitched ceilings and within expanses of glass we created a domestically scaled sanctuary that enhances interaction with family, friends and nature rather than fussy ornamentation.
Ensuring the resonant textures and tones seeped within, blues, saffron and silvery greys became our trifecta colours, responding to the expanse of sky, autumnal foliage, plus rocky outcrops and wispy clouds. Wholesome variants manifest in hues of oatmeal, nutmeg and cinnamon and the alchemic shimmer of bronze articulating joinery handles and lighting fixtures. Stone became our expressive canvas, lining walls, floors and fireplaces, plus bench and vanity surfaces.
The bathrooms share applications upon their walls via skirting and datum lines of varying band widths, mingling with intricate tile arrangements. Featuring travertine and marble, all three convey a whisper soft sensuality enhanced by the gentle flicker of sunlight upon glazed tiles. The powder room with its floor to ceiling marble wall and modular vanity manifests a hardier purpose.
European oak floors and custom maple joinery elements add a golden warmth, tonally referencing the namesake tufts of speargrass sprouting across the plains. Further anchoring the home to its setting, we selected Omaru, a native limestone, for the fireplace’s surround set within a Schist wall painted with a chalky cream finish. Its curved, brusquely chiselled pillars echo the finer detailing of the kitchen island’s marble edge. A rustic chunk of flame-finished granite defines its hearth – a streamlined version sits in unison in the parent’s den.
Throughout, sculptural lighting adds nuanced subtleties, with offset sconces installed at head height. Floating about, Akari paper lamps and spherical pendants add a gentle touch amongst the robust frames, as does the crinkled Ingo Maurer desk light illuminating the entrance console. Whilst country themes creep in, they are elevated with an intelligent charm. A Paola Navone trunk console sprouts in the main entrance. Its rustic cousin – a locally sourced timber log milled into a coffee table – grounds the parent’s den. Within the guest bedroom, we covered the clients’ treasured Giorgetti Progetti armchair with local New Zealand sheep wool and shepherded a snug Pierre Augustin Rose bouclé wool armchair into the primary suite.
"Sarah-Jane got to know us so intimately as we had great open communication. She really understood our kids’ practical needs having her own. The home isn’t a museum. With four young boys it couldn’t be precious and gentle!" Homeowner, Speargrass House
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Arent&Pyke acknowledges the traditional custodians of this land. We pay our respects to them, their culture and traditions. We recognise their connection to the land and honour their elders, both past and present.