Moody living areas; bright white bedrooms. The surprising contrast is just one of the quirks in this personality-filled lakeside home.
Demolition finds, integrated art and a deep connection to its location identify this bold yet modest lakeside home
Giant obsidian boulders flank the driveway to Rotorua architect Mary Campbell’s new house, cow-sized things that were spat out of Mt Tarawera when the volcano erupted in 1886. The bold gestures continue at the house’s entrance, where visitors are greeted by a 4m-high mural spray-painted by Auckland artist Flox: all vivid pinks, blues and greens against the traditional stained board-and-batten exterior. From the outset, the theme is clear: this is a small house – just 100sqm, plus 40-odd of decking – with a big personality.
Mary, who designed the house for herself and daughters Sylvie, seven, and Lily, five, says being her own client was liberating. “You can do things you normally wouldn’t do with clients, really push the limits. With the Flox artwork, I wanted to play with the idea of incorporating art and architecture at an earlier stage and in a stronger way than just sticking some pictures on a wall.”
There’s nothing precious about this place, which won a regional NZ Institute of Architects award in 2018. Set on a former pine plantation now covered in regenerating bush and with views of Lake Tarawera and the mountain, it’s bachy, relaxed and built for punishment – a year after they moved in, the robust plywood interior has coped admirably with the girls riding their bikes through the house. All of the internal doors were sourced from a demolition yard in Christchurch, Mary’s home town, as were the basins and tapware. >
“I wanted to use things that gave the house a sense of personality,” says Mary, who chose her bathroom tiles on the strength of seeing them once at a Titirangi cafe in Auckland. “I decided to use them because I had such a nice time that day with my friends – ridiculous, really.”
Mary’s connection with the bush block at Lake Tarawera dates back a decade, when she and her ex-partner and the father of her daughters Matthew Brears, a talented builder, shifted down from Auckland. They designed and built a house on the property, and have continued the partnership with this project on a subdivided parcel of land following an amicable split.
“We have a great working relationship,” says Mary. Her new parter Kane Merrie, a musician and builder, did most of the finishing work on the house.
One of the design challenges here was the lay of the land, with the views of the lake and mountain accessible on the shady southern side. In response, Mary set the living room to the north, opening onto a large deck, and worked hard to pull in as much light as possible, using a high ceiling that rises to nearly 4m in the openplan living areas. “We get great sunrises, and all-day sun, really. When the sun is setting, you often see the mountain turn red.”
Elsewhere, the scale becomes more intimate, and that contrast is reinforced by the use of bright white on the bedrooms walls against dark-stained plywood in the public areas. >
‘I wanted to play with the idea of incorporating art and architecture at an earlier stage and in a stronger way’
Mary says it’s a terrific house to live and work in. She runs her practice Bellbird Architect from home. But it’s the setting that makes life so enviable. A bush-lined track snakes downhill to the road where the girls catch the school bus. Lake Tarawera is in front, and Lake Ōkareka is a 10-minute walk in the other direction.
“I’m a huge advocate of living in smaller towns,” says Mary. “You can be just as cutting edge in your work yet have this amazing lifestyle, with ski fields and beaches close by. After school, I’ll pick up the kids from the bus and we’ll go straight to the lake for a swim or a picnic dinner, and often meet friends there.
“Because I didn’t grow up here, I can’t believe my luck. We go for lots of walks, exploring, biking and camping. >
“We’ve got kayaks and it’s just idyllic. You can get a water taxi across the lake to Hot Water Beach [Te Rata Bay] and camp there. And it’s a gorgeous lake; deep and clean enough to drink out of. There’s a lot of work going into keeping it pristine.”
She’s not alone in her love of Tarawera, with growing numbers moving to the lake from Auckland, Rotorua and other centres. “We have a community centre down the end, and there’s an opportunity to take a plate and meet everyone on Fridays. Young people are starting to come back, and it’s becoming really vibrant. Some interesting people choose to live here.”