Upscale country lodge on the cliff’s edge of Palliser Bay

Written by

03 October 2022

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5 min read

Thoughtful interior design uses vintage pieces, warm colours and delicate fabrics to evoke all the romance of a 19th century Kiwi farmstead.

Luxury accommodation Wharekauhau in Wairarapa was in need of a refurbishment of some interior spaces. Nikki Burnet of interior design studio Kurio in Wellington knew exactly what that called for: a deep dive into their fabric library.

“They decided to do a decent refresh of all their main guest spaces,” says Nikki, “as well as separate accommodations and a private villa that is part of the lodge.”

Wharekauhau is a well-known high-end accommodation overlooking the rugged beauty of Palliser Bay. The original farmstead there dates back to the mid-1800s, with buildings and extra accommodation appearing over the years including the main lodge that was added about 30 years ago.

“There’s a lot of history there,” says Nikki.

Kurio has already done some work for Wharekauhau over the past 10 years. “Little bits here and there, depending on what needed updating or refreshing. They have a lot of facilities within the lodge grounds that we've had design input and worked a little magic on over the years.”

That meant that for this more comprehensive design overhaul, the foundations had already been laid.

“The brief has always been for a high-end country lodge,” says Nikki. “The original concept in the lodge was in the arts and crafts style, because that would have been reflective of the style at the time of the original homestead's heyday in the early 1900s. That has always been the inspiration for any new design elements added over time: with the aim to create a warm, inviting, farmhouse feel, at a luxury level of quality and detail. It suits the location and the rich history of Wharekauhau so well.”

Otherwise the brief was open. “We were given a fair amount of creative licence too, which allowed us to inject more colour and personality into each room, and add our own spin to the overall scheme.”

Luxury lodge Wharekauhau in Wairarapa had an internal refresh of its guest spaces by Nikki Burnet and Katie Peck of interior design studio Kurio. Here in the lodge’s day room, the artworks were already owned by Wharekauhau. “We unearthed some of their existing decor pieces like these from storage, and curated them in a way that effortlessly complements the design of each room,” says Nikki.

The lodge was built much later than the main farmstead’s 1800s origins but retains the old-world charm. “We've created thoughtful vignettes using antique pieces, furniture and art to provide visual moments of pause throughout,” says Nikki.

Plenty of consideration was given to the mood of each room as you transition through the building. In the corridor, it’s open and airy. “When you make your way through this corridor, there are windows all down one side and it's lovely and bright.”

The sofas in the main living room are by Profile Furniture. Fabrics were key to Kurio’s design and they were careful to use hardwearing fabrics such as velvet and wool on high-use items such as sofas while saving more delicate embroidered materials and trims for accessories and occasional furniture. The team went to fabric houses such as Seneca, Textilia, James Dunlop Textiles, Icon Radford and Atelier Textiles to source the perfect fabrics to build their palettes.

Because they were building on an already established style, says Nikki, they instantly knew what the spaces needed. “We turned to the fabric sampling books first. We immersed ourselves until we found the key fabrics we wanted to use in each area, and we built out from there. We knew the feel that each room needed so that gave us our initial direction, but when we found the feature fabric for each scheme that became the starting point for our cohesive palettes.”

Nikki says the idea is to create movement though the building.

“There are a number of unexpected corners and niches around the main guest building that are quite standalone in relation to some of the larger communal areas. And so we've treated each of them as their own little moment. The main living area is more formal, so it features more sumptuous, rich colour. A formal dining room flows into a relaxed conservatory and open breakfast area, which is fittingly light, fresh and airy. The red evening room upstairs is super moody and very luxurious.”

All the rooms have to have flexibility. “They cater for and host a wide range of events from weddings and wine tastings through to private getaways. And so depending on the season, the weather and the number of guests, they will set up in any of those rooms. There might be a lunch in the day room for a group of friends or they might pop you upstairs in the evening for an intimate dinner for two. They use all of those spaces very cleverly. We custom made all the dining tables in the formal dining room so they can be pushed together to create different configurations. We spent a lot of time getting the dimensions just right. It looks simple but there was a lot that went into the design of those pieces of furniture.”

The breakfast room is part of the lodge’s working kitchen. “They grow a lot of their own produce and use it in the kitchen, which is really lovely. They have extensive gardens and utilise food from the natural surrounding landscape. Their staff have a deep passion and respect for the lodge and are extremely knowledgeable,” says Nikki.

The scullery adjacent to the breakfast room and kitchen. Wharekauhau produces and sells its own honey, marmalade, gin and more.

The library is decorated with warm colours to counteract the unusual light in the area thanks to the wide outlooks of sea and sky, says Nikki. “It's a nice little space with a fireplace where you can tuck yourself away.”

The Kurio team had access to Wharekauhau's large collection of memorabilia and artefacts from its long history as a working farm. “Our preference for design is to layer in vintage pieces, it's just the best way to get character and personality into a space or tell a story about the people who inhabit that interior, or have already been and gone. Particularly when that's a treasured location like Wharekauhau and you're trying to really emphasise and convey the beautiful history of the lodge surrounds and its people.”

The evening room is upstairs. “We’ve sourced a number of items, and we’ve had pieces custom made. And even though it’s new furniture we chose to use classic styles that add to a layered feel in a way that you can’t pinpoint exactly what’s new and what’s old.”

The evening room can be reconfigured for many types of functions. A cocktail bar is hidden behind the grid of artworks.

Nikki and her partner at Kurio, Katie Peck, used a mixture of custom-made pieces, vintage finds, and items that were already in Wharekauhau.

“We were lucky that the lodge had so much memorabilia on hand and in storage. We were able to hunt through that, and curate a collection of key pieces to help us tell the lodge’s story. It was a lovely way to build character into the interior.”

However, says Nikki, one of the biggest considerations at Wharekauhau was the use of colour.

“Colour behaves differently here and the selection of those colours has been critical to the success of each space because the light at Wharekauhau is really unusual. The view of the often grey sky and the sea sweeps in, and in those rooms we lean warmer than we normally would to counterbalance that. It took a bit of experimenting 10 years ago, so this time around we knew how far to push those colours to get it right. You can see this thinking, particularly in the red room, and in the main living room downstairs. We used rich burnt umbers, cinnamon tones and oranges to really amp up that warmth.”

The overall effect perfectly suits the lodge, says Nikki.

“A big consideration for us from an interior design perspective was the layering up of texture, colour and pattern so it’s really cosy. The location is isolated and windswept, and looks right out onto the ocean. It’s almost haunting in a beautiful way. In summer with all the doors thrown open it’s an absolute sun trap. But on a particularly grey, drizzly day, with all the fireplaces roaring, it doesn’t matter. It’s a little bit like stepping back in time.”

Foley Villa is a separate standalone accommodation on the property. It uses similar styling and colours to achieve a cohesive feeling with the lodge. There are also several other accommodation suites that Kurio worked on. “They are all individual cottages down little rambling paths, which is quite sweet,” says Nikki.

A bedroom in Foley Villa. The bedside lamps are by Eunice Taylor.

“Sometimes we work individually and sometimes, like on this project, it was very collaborative between Katie and me just because of the size and scope of the brief,” says Nikki. “Our portfolio is a real mix of residential and commercial work but we’re becoming known for our success in designing boutique lodge and larger accommodation spaces, which is a really exciting prospect for us.”

Nikki says the trick was to balance modern-day conveniences with the feeling of old-world charm.

“It’s very isolated,” says Nikki of the remote luxury getaway, “and that’s the beauty of it.” Wharekauhau is also a working sheep station so as well as activities such as biking, heli-fishing, swimming, croquet, tennis, archery and more, a tour of the farm is available. “It’s quite educational and quite fascinating.”