When artist Katherine Throne and her husband, Craig, returned to New Zealand eight years ago, she was blown away by how all the houses they were looking to buy were painted white.
In the United States, Mrs Throne’s paintings had been vibrant and expressive.
"Houses in America seemed to be full of colour. I was working on a friend’s organic vegetable garden. Everything was full of life," she recalls. "Then I came back to New Zealand and was shocked at how white all the walls were."
At the same time, she noticed an obsession with house plants which suggested that although people loved clean lines, they craved the organic and natural.
Mrs Throne also likes to connect with nature but the parts of the garden she is most drawn to are wild and slightly overgrown. Given the chance to plan her own house, she pictured a home with no white walls, set in a large, unruly garden.
It was January, 2020, just before Covid-19 reached New Zealand, when she and her husband moved to Wanaka with their daughters, now aged 12 and 14. Buying a 4000sqm section in the Northlake subdivision gave them enough space for a house, a large garden and a separate studio. Sloping and north-facing, the site also offered the opportunity to make the most of passive solar gain with exposed thermal mass.
Asked by the architects to provide pictures of things she and her husband liked, Mrs Throne sent images of wild, tangled plants, a crumbling shed covered in wisteria, the patina on a stool and the dovetailing on an old piece of furniture.
An admirer of "beautiful craft and carpentry", she also wanted the house to be part of the landscape.
"I think my descriptive words were organic, natural, sheltering and connected to the land," she says.
"I wanted the indoors to be a complete reflection of what was outside. But I also wanted the house to be small and interesting."
This "deep dive" at the start of the project was the first sign the architects were going to produce something extremely personal, she adds.
"It’s amazing the number of friends who came over and said, ‘It looks like the house has been here forever’ and ‘It’s so you’.
"It just fitted us perfectly."
While the design responded to local controls on colour, bulk and form, it challenged the assumption that houses in the area need to be monochrome and barn-like in order to be sensitive to the landscape.
Lloyd describes it as a "robust, structured form".
"We arranged a grid across the contour towards the north and the main views. And within the grid diagram of the house, we let the landscape in."
The entry is accessed via a curved path that leads through a rear courtyard to the centre of the house. Inside, a central sunken lounge provides diagonal views into the other interior spaces and access to the garden. These connections help the three-bedroom home feel generous despite it being a compact 165sqm.
That approach is apparent in smaller details too. For example, the intersecting lines of the interior cabinetry complement the external corners of the house.
While the cabinetry was crafted from Tasmanian spotted gum, the ceilings are oiled ply.
"I like the nod to the landscape in terms of the use of wood," Mrs Throne says.
"We’re backing on to a pine forest. We see trees and scrub and bush around us. So there’s quite a rustic feel."
From the concrete block and ply to the sunken lounge and open shelving, there’s also a strong mid-century vibe. It’s a fitting backdrop for the mid-century lights and furniture the couple brought back from Grand Rapids, Michigan — a city with a long history of furniture-making and their home for nine years before returning to Auckland.
The builders, Plimmer Building Contractors, were asked to finish the separate artist’s studio first. It’s the one room with white walls and that is only for practical reasons, Mrs Throne says.
"I’d probably paint it all green and yellow if I could but that would skew my colour."
The garden provides inspiration for her works, which she describes as "big, tangly florals".
Propagating seedlings while they were still in a rental gave her a head-start on the section but essentially she has been "on a massive journey, learning about plants and gardening".
With a small budget, the architects sought solutions that would have the greatest impact on the home’s energy use throughout its lifetime. The concrete floor, which is insulated below and thermally isolated from the walls, serves as a heat store. The roof is also well-insulated while the windows are triple-glazed and thermally-broken.
Verdant House won awards for both interior architecture and use of colour at the recent Southern Architecture Awards.
The awards jury said it had a "beautifully eclectic interior", with cosy nooks, shelving and window seats "inviting inhabitation".
"A combination of warm timbers, earthy greens, whites and brick-reds enrich a timeless design that will be enjoyed for generations.
"This house makes you think you’re on holiday. Then the realisation kicks in that you can live this way all year round."
