Design mecca

"Insite" side table from DesignMade. Photo / Steven McNicholl

If you're anything like me, redecorating a room usually means driving for kilometres to distant and obscure suburbs in order to track down the latest paint colour, fabric or designer item. But now, thanks to the emergence of a bona fide design precinct in the heart of Newmarket, there is salvation for my car tyres and my carbon footprint.

Situated at the junction of Broadway, Parnell Rd and Railway St, and on Leek St, is a convenient cluster of 10 showrooms devoted to offering furniture, fabrics, accessories, paint and kitchen design services to the time-pressed but choosy home owner.

My first stop was Creazioni Kitchens, which creates bespoke kitchens - all designed in New Zealand and made in Italy - that defy easy classification; a sleek contemporary kitchen of black glass sits beside a traditional-style wooden one with lattice cupboards and basket-style drawers. And check out the handy Zenith HydroTap that delivers either boiling or chilled filtered water instantly.

Across the road, Alcamo Interiors has what is probably the best range of ready-made cushions I've ever seen. Dozens and dozens of them, all arranged in colour groupings, line the floor-to-ceiling shelves at the rear of the store. Classic good taste pervades the furniture and accessories shown here. I liked the tabletop tripod lamp-base and brushed pewter desk lamp.

But it was the rectangular cushions covered in a "faded" antique-style fabric with a figurative Chinese design - by Lizzo, a Spanish fabric house - that I longed to take home.

Just around the corner in Railway St is Ashton Grove, a two-level store that offers traditional handmade wooden furniture, such as parquet-topped dining tables, as an antidote to mass-production. The Zanette range of contemporary Italian design includes such whimsical items as side tables finished in gold-coloured leather. The eye-catching "Must" sofa by Clockwise from above: "Must" white sofa by Longhi, in Piumone grade leather, $29,200, from Aston Grove; Cushion from Alcamo, feather filled; black lacquered modern kitchen on display at Creazioni Kitchens; and glass and metal outdoor table with four chairs, $2450 for the set, from Mid-Century Furniture. PICTURES / STEVEN MCNICHOLL

Longhi - featuring buttons in either white leather or diamante - is a modern take on the classic buttoned sofa.

Next door, Aalto Colour offers not just the complex multi-pigmented paints for which it is famous, but an inspiring selection of home interior and design magazines from around the world. Some of the 42 colours in Aalto's popular classic palette have been around since 1993. "Colours endure," says Prue Cook. "They're forever colours."

Aalto will even create bespoke hues if the precise paint shade can't be found.

Ambiance Interiors, with its stylish collection of French-inspired furniture and accessories, is just along the road. All tastes, from Parisian chic to rustic charm, are catered for. As well as furniture, there are La Cornue stoves and Mauviel saucepans. I spied an antique Moet & Chandon double-sided 120-bottle champagne rack and have long been enamoured with the "Kenya" plates adorned with safari animals. At the rear is the Redelman range of furnishing fabrics, including Robert Allen and Beacon Hill, and commercial wall coverings.

Upstairs is Designers International - offering fabrics, wallpapers and lighting - and Vivace Textiles, home to that covetable Lizzo fabric mentioned earlier. Members of the public are welcome to browse in this trade showroom.

A separate staircase at the front of the building leads to Mid Century Design which displays faux bamboo gilt mirrors, cushions in a Brunschwig and Fils parrot design and ceramic lattice lamps. Mid Century Design celebrates the glamorous Hollywood Regency look and is renowned for its striking lamps. "They're antiques of the future," says Bridget Hanley, who sources objects from the US, including the east coast, mid-west and California. Room Service Interiors on nearby Leek St is a valuable resource for interior designers and clients alike which offers custom-made New Zealand-crafted furniture - sofas, chairs and tables - with a classic European influence, as well as bronze Trojan horses and marble fossil eggs.

Room Service Interiors takes pride in delivering to boutique hotels, lodges, vineyards and private residences within a six-week deadline. All items are made to order and must be sourced through a designer.

Next door, Designmade displays samples of New Zealand-made furniture by Montreux, Davies and Classique which can all be produced to a designer's specifications. Design consultant Kathryn Horton says that the craftsmen at Davies Furniture "celebrate the natural grain of the wood" and points out that the Savoy sofa by Montreux is upholstered in premium New Zealand Tasman aged leather. Meanwhile, I am very taken with Insite, a drum-shaped black-lacquered occasional table with an oak veneer top and an MDF base with geometric cut-out detail.

Designmade has interior textiles by Malcolm Fabrics and Roylston House, as well as Charles Parsons' luxurious range of Trelise Cooper home furnishing fabrics inspired by the romance of Lake Como and includes silk embroideries, antique printed velvets and colourful jacquards.

If you're in need of refreshments after all this perusing, Kathryn Horton recommends Jones the Grocer in Carlton Gore Rd for coffee, Mt Fuji on Broadway for sushi and Aqua Cafe, at the Olympic pools, for a "really good" chicken sandwich.

Back on the corner of Broadway and Railway St, I complete my design precinct journey with a visit to the Natuzzi showroom, which is fragrant with the scent of natural leather. With a pared-down aesthetic and mainly neutral palette, this shop showcases a range of contemporary Italian-designed sofas and chairs. Apparently every day 4000 people across the world choose a Natuzzi product to furnish their home.

www.designprecinct.co.nz