Best in show

The Landmark Homes Pāpāmoa showhome is designed to dazzle.

Words Nicky Adams

When you build your own home it’s not just the result that’s unique, but also the experience itself. The ability to pick your very own slice of land and tailor-make the perfect property to match can be a wonderful journey. Like any adventure it’s unlikely to come without its challenges, which is why so many people opt to bring on board a building company – to not only navigate the rocky bits, but also to guide from beginning to end.

Knowing where to begin can feel overwhelming – with ideas flying from every direction – which is why talking to professionals at a building company can clear the wood from the trees. Looking at something concrete is often all that’s needed; for inspiration, the best place to start is undoubtedly a showhome. It not only gives a good gauge of the quality of the build, but also offers a chance to get to know the people behind the brand. The new Landmark Homes showhome at 5 Forstera Way, Palm Springs, Pāpāmoa is a truly special example that exhibits how the seamless relationship between the client and Carly and Logan Stewart, Landmark Homes' Bay of Plenty owners, can result in a residence that is everything the client dreamed of.

Carly and Logan have been the Landmark Bay of Plenty franchise owners/operators since 2018. With a combination of industry experience and love of a challenge, their approach is very client centric. They enjoy not just the physical build, but also the building of relationships, which, they say, starts from the very first meeting. 

The Pāpāmoa showhome was an interesting project, in many ways defining new beginnings for those it was built for. A Hong Kong-based family had found their perfect section, but as they were still in a transitional phase, opted to build their dream home with Landmark Homes who had the ability to lease it back to be used as a showhome until the time the family were ready to move in. This made the project particularly exciting for Carly and Logan; usually with a showhome the building company would have carte blanche. In this instance there was a dual purpose, as the result would not just have to reflect the Landmark brand, but most importantly be the ultimate home for their client.

As the family were still in Hong Kong, client meetings about everything from floor plans to design inspiration were held with Carly and Logan over Zoom. Despite the distance, bonds were formed. Nutting down on
a style was an area of creative free flow – the couple loved the Hamptons style, but were also drawn to a coastal vibe. Merging two quite different feels was a masterclass in design. Cladding was an important element, with James Hardie Linear Weatherboard adding the perfect Hamptons vibe. Clean lines, clever use of natural light, and a neutral/white colour palette lock in the look.  

As Carly pointed out “with aspects of the style we did well to drive it in the direction of the Hamptons /coastal aesthetic. The landscaping was an important part of this, and we worked with a local landscaper to get the plantings right – it has quite structured Hamptons styled gardens intertwined with less structured, more natural coastal plantings. To bring those two together and make a story through the landscaping has been a real added feature. When you step onto the deck and walk around the entire house the landscaping speaks beautifully to the interiors.” 

The Design and Build process is an involved one. For the Pāpāmoa showhome: “We started with what the clients wanted. We work with different local architects and designers, picked depending on the client. Some of the styles we can see require certain designers; some might be suited to contemporary versus traditional. Our expertise comes in pairing up the right designer for the right job.” Once the plans had been confirmed, Carly was really thrilled. “It has a wonderful light, bright, warm feel. It’s actually the first single level showhome we’ve built since we brought the business seven years ago. I walked through it when the frame was up; I love airy spaces with natural light and airflow – everyone picks up on it.”

A three-bedroom home, spanning a spacious 261m2, is a great size. The design is thoughtful with consideration to the family dynamic, the master bedroom is on the opposite side from the children’s bedrooms, and there’s plenty of opportunity for growth. The reaction, Carly says, has been gratifying: “Everyone loves that the Pāpāmoa showhome is set
up for entertaining, and with it all being single level it pours out. There are huge glass sliders with great flow for entertaining and family living. It really does have a special feel – it’s a great place for a party!” Of course, the ultimate opinion lies with the clients themselves. They, Carly said, “were just mouth wide open – they loved it. They were quite overwhelmed and excited and just really looking forward to living in it.” And for Carly and Logan? “It’s a product we’re so, so happy to showcase.”

Looking through the showhome and gathering ideas is without doubt the best way to kickstart the thought process, but once potential customers are at this stage, fizzing with inspiration, where to next? Carly is very clear about the importance of the process for people, which is why a year ago Landmark moved into a purpose-built commercial office space in Matakokiri Drive, Tauriko. “We went into a brand new custom fit out; it’s in a huge warehouse so we can house tiles and product. The main idea was to have a lovely reception and a large selection room. There’s a 3D walkthrough, projected onto an 85-inch TV, where you can walk through the home plans. It’s a fully interactive experience, as well as being in this beautiful room with gorgeous products that people can touch and feel, with mood boards set up. We wanted to have something custom for the clients. It’s important they go through the showhome first – it’s a way for them to see what we do, then we set up a meeting
for them to come into the office with the selection room.” Circling back to the emphasis Carly and Logan place on the relationship side of the process, Carly sees it as an important step. “You get to meet the team and have a sensory experience of the selection room. It helps the process along to reassure them of the kind of company we are and what kind of product we turn out.”

The tight-knit team is a vital component of the dynamic, with Lisa as general manager, and Jeremy as construction operations manager. Together they thrive on the thrill of not just the straightforward jobs, but also the more difficult ones. Carly reflects: “We have got a bit of a name for taking on the more challenging projects – the long skinny sites, the sloping sections; and the building clientele who may have made a big investment in the land – we are then equally invested in helping them realise their dreams.”

Ultimately, says Carly, “everyone wants different things. One of the great things about Landmark Homes is that we’re New Zealand owned and we’ve been going for more than 45 years – and Landmark was founded in Tauranga where we still have our national office, which is quite special. A lot of people know it’s a tried and trusted brand. This instils confidence; people know they’re able to utilise our architecturally inspired Ready to Build plan collection, which has over 100 designs they can browse. For us it’s not about numbers – it’s quality over quantity.” 

Showhome: 5 Forstera Way, Pāpāmoa

landmarkhomes.co.nz/franchise/tauranga-western-bop

Bringing Bali home

Landmark Bay of Plenty’s latest show home combines tropical-inspired landscaping with relaxed, resort-like living.

Words Monique Balvert-O’Connor Photos supplied

It’s another passion project, says Carly Stewart of the latest Landmark showhome that’s just opened its doors in Palm Springs, Papamoa.

Carly, who co-owns Landmark Bay of Plenty with husband Logan Stewart, admits she’s fallen in love with the house, just as she did with her company’s previous show home in Omokoroa’s Harbour Ridge.

In true Landmark Bay of Plenty style, this latest beauty, sited in Montiicola Drive, is two-storied and clad in weatherboard. But, while the Omokoroa show home was Hamptons themed, this one represents Bali at its best - Balinese luxe resort to be exact, says Carly. This time, she was determined to take “a sidestep” and create something slightly different from the many coastal-themed abodes on the Montiicola strip. 

Tropical planting is an early indicator of the Balinese theme, and the James Hardy white-painted linear weatherboard (in Resene Quarter Rice Cake) has been joined on the exterior by blonded cedar detailing. The cedar aspects add to the home’s cutting-edge contemporary look, Carly explains, and it was important that the cedar was bleached (a Dryden wood oil was used to achieve this) to suit the light and breezy Balinese look. Also in accordance with that look is the pergola leading to the front door. It’s topped with narrow timber slats while bamboo grows at its sides. The white breeze block wall nearby features a frangipani design. 

A family home, this build spans 220 square metres, with the downstairs dedicated to open-plan main living (including a spacious scullery that incorporates a sink and wine fridge), the master bedroom suite, and a powder room. There is a separate laundry and internal access to the double garage. Accessing the outdoors is a breeze, as one would expect of a home channelling many things Balinese. A large timber deck feeds off the dining and living rooms where the doors stack back to integrate the inside and outside. There’s a patio off the master bedroom and a second patio off the lounge, facing roadside. This patio’s outdoor fire (there’s a gas fire inside, too), built-in cooking facility, breeze blocks, and plantings (including palms and cycads) amp up the home’s street appeal. 

Carly and Logan were especially keen for this home to be two-storied, as the upper levels offer the opportunity to enjoy sunset views over the Papamoa hills. The stairwell, rising from the entranceway of the home, leads to two double-sized bedrooms, a family bathroom, and a small lounge/retreat that can also function as a study space. 

The wonderfully functional layout and exterior appeal is complemented by the beauty in the detailing throughout the home. Carly so loves dealing with this aspect and calls upon interior designer Roselle Blockley of La Belle Maison to assist as an excellent sounding board. Carly sources product with the wow factor and turns her hopes and dreams into reality.

Excellent décor decisions are immediately apparent. The light fitting in the stairwell void is a handcrafted circular stunner – a visual treat that can be enjoyed from outside the house, too, given the window over the front door follows the roof’s high pitch. Also pleasing the eye from the get-go is the view from the front door of the stairway’s American Oak slatted balustrade (to bring the natural timber through to the inside), and a feature wall of handmade seagrass wallpaper.

Carly has ensured the build includes naturally derived product where possible. Sustainable, natural fibres were to the fore, for example, when the carpet was chosen – they’ve gone for Bremworth wool loop pile – and Roselle’s sourced natural organic linen for the drapery throughout the house. This environmentally friendly approach applies outside, too, where a water bore has been installed to keep the gardens lush year-round.

This showhome’s name promises luxury and a resort-like ambience so, as expected, there are many aspects that look fabulous and speak of enjoyable living. Top of mind for Carly are inclusions such as the large, round skylight inserted in the rooftop over the expansive deck; Forte timber flooring laid in a herringbone pattern in the lounge room; and “the most divine, opalescent tiles” from Sydney in the bathrooms’ shower recesses. Then there’s the kitchen where, in place of a splashback, there’s a window looking out on one of the patios with its lush planting – and then there’s the outdoor shower. 

“It’s a Balinese resort-inspired shower – it will be like standing in a tropical garden, with planting around and reached via misshapen glacial schist stepping stones in among a crushed shell path,” Carly enthuses.

The comprehensive landscaping plan, feature walls of wallpaper and tongue-and-groove timber, custom-made cabinetry, American Oak features, brushed nickel tapware, the high raked ceiling… All this and more give Carly joy when she views this latest show home. 

Already sumptuous, there’s the potential to make it even more Balinese resort-like, she adds. There’s room for a swimming pool, too. 

landmarkhomes.co.nz

A touch of glass

Palm Springs meets mid-century modern in this Thorne Group show home.

Words Monique Balvert-O’Connor / Photos supplied

There’s much that shines at the latest Thorne Group show home in Papamoa, but there’s one feature that’s an indisputable standout.

Clever design showcases just how the outdoors can be celebrated within the framework of a house. Take a bow, Thorne Group architectural designer Jon McAlpine.

While “indoor-outdoor flow” has become a cliched description, this Palm Springs house is next level in this regard, with an internal garden and many walls of movable glass. There are a total of seven stacker doors, plus a few sliders, that open the house up to its architecturally landscaped gardens. The solar-powered home is a lesson in how it’s possible to both inhabit a building yet reside with nature. 

This is evident from the get-go. Of immediate impact upon entering the home is its central atrium garden with a maple tree adding to the Japanese garden ambience. Glass walls surround this garden that’s open to the sky, with the two long walls featuring stacker doors, enabling the house to welcome the outdoors – both the garden and the sky – in.

That’s but the start. The home’s main living area wraps around an outdoor deck (topped by a slatted roof allowing for beautiful, filtered light and airflow.) Thanks to walls of glass, the view from the kitchen island travels over the dining room table to this deck, then through to the lounge and beyond to the expansive kwila deck out back that overlooks a man-made waterway. All these walls of glass are stacker doors, so the house can be opened from the kitchen right through to the deck at the back of the property. The hallway linking the kitchen to the lounge also features stacker doors opening to the covered outside area. There are, in fact, a total of six stacker doors in this main living hub, including one off to the side of the kitchen island where the side garden can be accessed. Along this same wall, the dining room’s built-in window seat languishes below a deep window with panes that also slide right back. 

Then there’s the freestanding bath in the en suite, positioned behind, yes – moveable glass – so there’s a sense of bathing outdoors. Raised planter boxes provide privacy in this area facing the man-made waterway. 

Given the home’s interconnectivity with nature, it’s little surprise that timber is beautifully showcased, and that Annique Heesen from Gezellig Interiors has ensured natural hues abound in the interior design choices. 

Attention-grabbers on the exterior of this single-level home are its curved vertical shiplapped cedar walls, and a boardwalk of timber leading to the front door. The cedar is repeated in various key places indoors. The foyer is an immediate example, with its cedar wall and ceiling creating a seamless connection from exterior to interior spaces. Cedar also features in the main bathroom, on the wall dividing the master bedroom from its en suite, and is the cladding of choice for the outdoor fire surround – the view of which can be enjoyed from all the main living areas.

The cedar happily cohabitates with the home’s eco-friendly cork flooring and wool carpet, and with the many attractive displays of American oak; this timber is used for the kitchen cabinetry, for example, and to frame cavity slider doors featuring beautiful reeded glass. 

There’s much to delight throughout this house. The kitchen skylights with automatic rain sensors, for example, or the solar generation with battery storage, or the limestone kitchen island bench, the traditional plaster render in the lounge and on the kitchen splashback and overhead cupboards, and the carport (with great road-side appeal) in lieu of a garage. 

The multi-functionality of one of the three double bedrooms also hold appeal. This bedroom features a double bed that folds down from the wall, has its own entry via an external sliding door, and incorporates a dual-access bathroom. It can easily be shut off from the house to form a private visitors’ pad or a workspace. The home does, however, already feature an office. Both the office and a super-sized scullery are sited behind the kitchen’s back wall. 

Adding to the overall appeal is the fact the home has been designed to gain 6 Star Homestar accreditation. “Eco-friendly materials and finishes” and “sustainability” have been guiding words in this showhome project. Along with the design itself, all the fixtures, fittings, and materials have been meticulously thought out and calculated to ensure they comply within Homestar guidelines. As expected -- given the many glass walls -- the design optimises passive solar energy, too.

The design brief for this house was Palm Springs with a mid-century modern approach. That box, and so many others, have been ticked. It’s little wonder that word on the street, surrounding this Montiicola Drive address, is that this house will be one to watch out for at architectural awards time.

Thornegroup.co.nz