Bridging its heritage past, with a nod to its contemporary future, Akin Atelier designed a home where dualities are both ever-present and heralded. From approach, an ordered arrangement of zones leads the visitor from the front door, out to the expansive deck – one that engulfs its views of Tamarama Beach and the Tasman Sea. The deliberate connection to nature, through filtered and framed views beyond, was paramount to its New Zealand-based clients.
The living space features the Atelier Chair by CR Essentials, from Coco Republic.
Through restoration and reinstating of the home’s heritage features, a sense of its history has been injected into the new works. Together with a modern take on shaker style, new joinery connects with the home’s storied past. As an overall approach, Akin Atelier wanted to retain a humble and reserved sense of the smaller and more intimate feelings of the cottage-style home, and its scale and location are secondary to this. The kitchen becomes the centre of the home, encouraging gathering and purpose, while all other zones hinge from this meeting point.
Referencing its adjacency to the sea, the materiality and imbedded texture reflect a coastal ease, with colours such as ‘whale-watching’ blue, mangrove buff sandstone paving, New Zealand wool carpet and custom-stained floorboards. The palette mirrors the client’s eclecticism and sense of curiosity. The use of blue-moon marble is a reminder of the rivers in New Zealand and the use of varied lighting and curated objects further play into the duality and balance intended by the designers.
The kitchen features the Flos Snoopy Lamp in Black and a set of four Audoux Minet style Rope Bar stools from THE VAULT.
The dining nook features Lesley Doe Ceramics from Dunlin Home.
Akin Atelier envisioned a home that captures the nuances of its owners, with layers of texture, time and history woven into it, as a capsule of their well-travelled lives. The celebration of the existing and the introduction of new contemporary elements with their own embedded personality create a series of spaces that speak to the ideas of collecting and curating one’s life.
Akin Atelier have created a series of portals outward and places of interest within, respectfully embracing the history of both the client and their home.
Akin Atelier sourced Society Limonata bed linen from ONDINE.
The bedroom features the Little Petra Chair from Cult Design and the IC Lights F2 by Michael Anastassiades from Euroluce.
Outside the bedroom lies a quiet spot among the treetops, featuring the Campaign Safari Chair American Oak from Dunlin Home and Gervasoni Side Table from ANIBOU.
