And so we come to it at last, the final of the six episodes of the second season of NZ’s Best Homes with Phil Spencer. It’s a finale which includes both an art surprise and one of the most valuable properties in the series, even if it – controversial opinion below – really doesn’t qualify to be on the show.
This week’s three properties top $20 million in total value giving Spencer a season in which he has surveyed more than $150 million worth of housing stock across just 18 homes. That represents a lot of architects to greet in a matey fashion, a lot of wall textures to run his hands over lovingly, and quite a lot of timber to smell.
The man himself, in a more passive role than he is on his UK property shows, remains ever likable, even if there has been times his scripts have made him sound like the Alan Partridge of the open home, or a Temu Kevin McCloud.
So what have we learned during past shows about the state of NZ architecture and where our high net-worth individuals like to live or spend their weekends?
Well, um, those suspended fireplaces sure are popular. You could have run a drinking game for every time one of those turned up in the corner with its 1960s French design looking like the fire-breathing mouth of a stingray.
We could say something rude about the art and other tastes of some of the people who live in these houses. But they have been nice enough to let their architects show Spencer about their digs and the ratings indicate that’s what lots of us want to watch. Here’s a recap of the final three.
Te Arai Beach House
Situated not far from the Te Arai Links luxury golf course south of Mangawhai, the home is a weekend getaway place consisting of two offset gabled timber sheds which sit between the dunes of the beach and a stand of pine trees. It also sits among a growing number of high-end baches that the beach and the golf course is attracting to the area.
The timber cladding extends to the exterior roof, which with the lack of corrugated iron, the pine tree backdrop and white sand gives it all a slightly Baltic feel. But there’s plenty of rural NZ in the slatted timber of the sliding timber shutters.
And all that wood means it’s put to the now-regular Spencer sniff test. “I can smell the timber!” he says, yet again, indicating a pass.
But that wood is offset in the master bedroom and at least one other room with the walls covered by panels replicating artist Lisa Reihana’s famous video work In Pursuit of Venus [Infected].
The work was Reihana’s reinterpretation of early 19th century French scenic wallpaper Les Sauvages de la Mer Pacifique. She gets a mention in the show, though no explanation of the work or its roundabout journey to being wallpaper for the well-to-do, once again.
Designed by Fearon Hay, the place was completed in 2019.
What Spencer says: “The interior, throughout this whole cabin, is next level, homely, with clever, curated moments and little quirky touches.”
What the architects say: “The buildings are sited to create an occupation against the dune edge that feels relaxed and timeless. To moderate light, air, view and privacy, the house is layered with sliding timber shutters. By using timber on the interior it brings together the building as a whole and blurs indoors with outdoors. Inside a combination of sloping and flat ceilings provide both intimate and voluminous spaces. When the ceilings are raised and sloping to the ridge, a dado of timber down-stands link the spaces and consolidate the glazing and shutter lines on the perimeter.”
QV: $3.72million
To see more go here
Parihoa, Muriwai
Have to say, not sure if this one qualifies as coming under the title of “NZ’s Best Homes". It’s essentially a place where people like Brad Pitt stay.
Or those wanting a windswept rural backdrop to their wedding photos get married then hold their receptions in the multi-car garage which doubles as a ballroom.
Or where at a nearby building that is part of the estate, they film The Great Kiwi Bake Off. The architects talk about it on their website as a “fortress enclosing a luxury sanctuary for family living” and the show tries hard to pretend that it’s home to actual people.
But one can’t help but think it’s essentially a luxury car showroom dropped on a sheep paddock above a coastal cliff. It’s also a big dark brown block house with a layer of timber which acts as a shield to the prevailing weather – and the sheep which like to rub their asses against it. Hey, everyone’s a critic.
If you get to stay there, there’s a memory test of how far down the hall your bedroom is because there’s no obvious doors or handles. Just panels to push. If that’s your kind of place, you can actually buy it as it’s on the market. Designed by Pattersons architects, it was completed in 2009.
What Spencer says: “It’s got room for twice as many cars as it has bedrooms.”
What the architects say: “A rural castle on a wind-swept hill, this home responds to the environment as a fortress enclosing a luxury sanctuary for family living. Positioned in a rugged landscape with sometimes harsh weather, this contemporary house nestles into the hillside with magnificent panoramic views of the coast.
“The home is arranged as a series of spaces linked by way of the circulation courtyard and secret doors, discovering forms and shapes seemingly arbitrarily positioned, yet suggesting a history; a sense of transcended time. Long views across the protected courtyard end on the all-pervasive horizon, moving toward the edges of the structure, the ocean and sky open up above and below, until the view’s full breadth is revealed.”
RV:$14,000,000 for house and the 554 acre farm and infrastructure.
To see more go here.
Mangawhai Estuary House
Situated a couple of golf courses north of the Te Arai beach house, this brick and timber home on the south-western edge of the Mangawhai Estuary comes with considerable, ah, curve appeal.
Its walls and the materials inside nicely reflect the shapes and tones of the snaking river mouth out the front and the sand dunes across the water. Its outdoor areas include a central courtyard open to the sky, which speaks to this column’s favourite architectural period, mid-period Thunderbirds.
It was the winner of Home Magazine Awards Rural Home of the Year, despite being built on a subdivision street of some 40 homes at Mangawhai, a town which is fast becoming Auckland’s northernmost suburb.
It was designed by architect Belinda George, and completed in 2024.
What Spencer says: “What a spot, what an idea. Because every curve, every colour, every material in what is clearly a beautiful home is a direct reflection of what’s happening out there, the ebb and the flow of the estuary. Super-smart, super-clever. It really, really works.”
What the architects say: “The plan reflects our desire to echo the dynamic nature bought about by the tides. The resulting shapes and textures are a conceptualisation of movement in and around the internal courtyard which forms the heart of this home.The materials selected reflect surrounding landscapes; the brick speaks to the warm colours in the sand dunes which are a predominant feature of the view across the estuary, and the dark weatherboards draw on the bark of the pōhutukawa trees that line the coast. We used the play of solidity and fluidity to create a harmonious retreat for the occupants.”
QV: $3,450,000
To see more go here
Episodes of NZ’s Best Homes with Phil Spencer are available to see on TVNZ+