Peak practice

When these Central Otago newbies moved to this alpine playground less than a year ago, they wanted their home to pay homage to the mountains

LEFT The twin gables and knotty vertical cedar cladding, stained in Dryden Woodoil ‘Midnight’, allow the home to blend with the typography and colours of the landscape.

EVER BEEN AWAY for a mini-break and returned with a plot of land? Logan and Jane Sears have. To be fair, their Queenstown purchase wasn’t completely out of the blue. But their change of heart was. “We always talked about spending a year in the mountains,” says Logan, “but when we came for a look around, we saw no particular reason not to live here permanently.”

The couple, who had a lifestyle block in Coatesville, Auckland decided to sell up their French Country-style home and move south for a slightly slower pace and a property that was easier to maintain. In preparation, they emailed enquiries to five building companies. Three returned their correspondence but Carolyn McIsaac from David Reid Homes was the only one to pick up the phone.

Jack’s Point is a 1200-hectare development with a golf course, 30 kilometres of hiking, biking and equestrian trails and a limit of 500 homes. The views are large, the populace sparse. For the Searses, it offered the perfect balance between suburbia and total privacy.

The 1200-square-metre section that Carolyn showed them wasn’t officially on the market, but she gave the Searses the owners’ details in Toronto. Buying here, with wrapround mountain views and a lake on the doorstep, was a “no brainer”. “We called up, negotiated a price and just kept on rolling with the design-and-build process,” says Logan.

Having built four times before, they were familiar with the deal, albeit this time that progress was monitored remotely. The aesthetic they easily settled on was ‘modern lodge’ and they put their trust in the professionals to deliver it.

Tim Pearce, from Pearce Architecture, devised an H-shaped plan with two pavilions – one for bedrooms, one for living – and a central link (the dining room) which leads directly to a covered outdoor dining area, sheltered in the embrace of the dwelling. “The living area steps forward of the bedrooms to offer a view of F

OPPOSITE Exposed trusses, French oak flooring and a fireplace wrapped in long, thin schist sourced from Glenorchy give a lodge-like flavour to the interiors.

LEFT Logan and Jane Sears moved to Queenstown from Auckland and are enjoying the calmer lifestyle.

BELOW The kitchen features charcoal-toned cabinetry and a matte-black peninsula with a hob inset for meal preparation while chatting with friends. Through the skylight, the cook gets a peek of the Remarkables.

LEFT Wood-look ceiling tiles in the en suite and a wall-hung Sirocco Syrtari cabinet in ‘Rural Oak’ offset the moodiness of the floor-to-ceiling charcoaltoned wall tiles. ABOVE The couple chose Elwick Paisley wallpaper by Zoffany as a backdrop to their bed and the Vernara Copper headboard by Bianca Lorenne also makes a statement.

the lake,” explains Logan. This classic layout provided the structure that works equally well for when just the two of them are in residence, or when out-of-town visitors come to stay.

Keeping the material palette low key within the magnificence of the setting was not only a dictate of the Jack’s Point covenants but also something the Searses held dear. Clad in dark-oiled cedar boards with a knotty texture, sporting black aluminium joinery and a Colorsteel tray roof in ‘Flaxpod’, the dwelling blends into the towering schist peaks, reflecting the robust, angular forms in its gabled ends. There’s a sublime minimalism to the architecture – nothing fussy or frilly – and schist chimney stacks are vertical elements that further anchor the house to the landscape. “We didn’t get too juiced about the style of the home – we just wanted high ceilings, lots of timber and glass for the views,” says Logan.

Simplicity on the exterior gives way to a welcoming, stylish interior grounded by French oak flooring. Here, Logan asked his sister, interior designer Anita Sears, and her colleague Alana Musson, of Nextdore in Christchurch, for their insights. It was how they ended up with tiled ceilings in the en suite, a master stroke that combines the warmth of wood-look tiles with the charcoal coolness of the wall tiles.

Charcoal also features in the kitchen cabinetry, which is all streamlined efficiency with a hidden scullery to keep it that way. ‘Decluttered’ and ‘functional’ were keywords from the couple, who both love to cook. A peninsula with a built-in hob takes centre-stage and there are three ovens on the rear wall. “It’s amazing how many times you need all three ovens,” argues Logan. Crafting culinary masterpieces in this space would never be a chore, particularly as it remains connected to the great outdoors by floor-to-ceiling windows across the living room but also from above. “The skylight here is the money shot; it gives you a view straight up to the top of the Remarkables,” says Logan.

In the living zone, an exposed roof truss helps support the soaring cathedral ceilings. Made of beech, it was battered and bashed by the David Reid Homes build F

team to give it character that ties in with the open fireplaces and the timber mantelpiece made from an old railway sleeper from the Northern Territory, that Logan had been lugging around for more than 10 years.

Such personalised touches have added a layer of history to the building and the Searses, who moved here in winter 2021, are slowly making the spaces their own. They’re proud of the hand-forged candelabra they ordered from a New Zealand knifemaker which necessitated steel framing being put into the ceilings to hang it. And they already have stories to tell about fishing out the boulders (which give real heft to the landscaping) from the ground at a nearby farm.

Jane, who works as a recruitment consultant from home, and Logan, who is in the franchise services industry and commutes regularly to Auckland, feel like they’re settling into the neighbourhood nicely. “We’re trying to find our rhythm, but everyone is very friendly when we’re out walking the dog,” says Logan.

For them, the project has been seamless and wholly positive. Now this gentler pace is allowing time to enjoy the rewards. Whether that’s making mountains of paella to feed an enthusiastic stream of out-of-town guests, playing a game of chess in front of the crackling fire, or enjoying a late-afternoon drink on the deck watching the ski lifts make their lazy way down the Remarkables, what’s not to love? P

Loving the local

Using elements sourced from not too far away gives this new-build a real Central Otago flavour:

• Glenorchy stone is used on the two fireplaces as well as to clad the link between the two pavilions. There are many types of local schist, but the couple chose Glenorchy stone because it has no yellow content. “It was sourced on a private property.

When there’s significant rainfall, it washes down the river and that’s how they harvest it,” explains Logan. • The Sears commissioned Omakau knifemaker Peter Lorimer to make the steel candelabra. It’s a monster at 60 inches (152cm) in diameter.

“When we first saw it, we thought it was too big,” says Logan. It wasn’t. • Four massive rocks (weighing 15 tonnes each) placed as elements on the driveway, entry walkway and out the front of the property, were dug out of a farm in Kingston and craned into place. They give the landscaping a definite local feel. • The Jack’s Point development has a rule that for any non-native planted, seven natives need to be planted to counter it. There aren’t many gardens full of roses and wisteria. Tussock grasses and beech trees tie this home, and those that surround it, beautifully back to nature.

ABOVE The powder room is furnished with a striking Como concrete floor basin in ‘Midnight’ with a dash of decorativeness provided by the Iliad by Zoffany wallpaper. A Voronoi globe, by Tala, is reflected in the mirror.