Trends New Zealand Trends Volume 32 No 5 New Zealand | Page 100

Previous pages: Inside, the splayed, ornate
staircase with traditional chandelier overhead
provides an appropriate welcome. Beyond this
on ground level lie the open-plan living, dining,
morning room and kitchen. The American oak
flooring that runs throughout the ground floor
has been given diverse treatments. In the morning
room, one of the owners’ favourite spaces, the
floors are in a parquet finish. A recessed ceiling
graces this area while the main ceiling is panelled.

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From these front ground floor spaces,
the house ranges back to a central staircase
void, a library and a guest room, with a
large sports room behind and an annexed
triple garage. Halfway between garage
and loggia, stands the entry, enhanced
by formal landscaping by Robin Shafer,
and providing an apt approach. Upstairs,
behind the master suite there is a retreat,
the staircase void, and further bedrooms.
The interiors of the sprawling home
are just as detailed as the exteriors. The
grand staircase is one of the first things to

greet the eye – an excellent example of the
artisanal workmanship seen throughout.
The stairway flairs outwards, requiring
complex design calculations, and features
turned balustrading and panelled newel
posts, while the bullnose oak steps are
shown to optimum effect – extending out
beyond the curve of the stairs. The 30m
long hallway has ¾ height panelling.
“Standing at the heart of the home, the
roomy kitchen is a faithful reflection of an
upmarket American family kitchen,” says
Wilson. “For example, the cabinet drawer