Bringing Bali to the Bay

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 I t’s another passion project, says Carly Stewart of the latest Landmark show home that’s just opened its doors in Palm Springs, Pāpāmoa.

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 Ōmokoroa’s Harbour Ridge.

In true Landmark Bay Of Plenty style, this latest beauty, sited in Montiicola Drive, is two-storied and clad in weatherboard with cedar accents. But, while the Ōmokoroa 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. The central decking area boasts built-in alfresco cooking facilities, 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 Pāpāmoa hills. The American Oak 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 American Oak stairway (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 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 show home’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 Forte timber flooring laid in a herringbone pattern in the lounge room, and “the most divine, opalescent tiles” sourced 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.

All this, alongside a comprehensive landscaping plan, feature walls of wallpaper and tongue-andgroove timber, custom-made cabinetry, American Oak features, brushed nickel tapware and the high raked ceiling, give Carly joy whenever 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