Mangawhai Residence
Perched on the brow of a gently sloping estate in Mangawhai, this house commands both its landscape and the imagination. The site presented challenges as readily as it offered possibilities — and it is from this tension that something quietly exceptional emerged.
The long, slender form, conceived by architect Jose Gutierrez, became the canvas upon which at.space were invited to craft something more intimate: a series of spaces and interiors that together compose a deeply personal retreat.
Designed as a second home, the spaces were nonetheless shaped around the rhythms of real, everyday life. The interiors were developed around this intention; inviting and textural, simple, yet warm - they hold a conversation with the landscape that presses in from beyond the glass.
Mangawhai • Northland
DATE
2023
SCOPE
Spatial Review, Colour Scheme, Kitchen & Laundry Design, Bathroom Design, Lighting, Furniture Design, Window Treatments, Soft Furnishings, Procurement
ARCHITECT
Jose Gutierrez
CONSTRUCTION
NF Construction
PHOTOGRAPHER
Samuel Hartnett
Natural oak veneer was chosen for its quietly warm and tactile presence. Running through the kitchen and wrapping into the hallway, it forms a continuous thread — a timber box at the heart of the home, anchoring the expansive living space and drawing the eye to its centre.
Fine stainless steel benchtops bring a quiet industrial contrast to the softness of the oak veneer. Beyond their aesthetic role, the material was a considered choice — robust enough to meet the realities of a well-used family home
Behind the kitchen, a long hallway traces the length of the home toward the bedrooms. Its form is left deliberately unadorned — no furnishings, no artwork. Floor to ceiling windows frame the landscape beyond, drawing in shafts of light that shift through the day and provide all the decoration the space requires.
The bedrooms and bathrooms were conceived as spaces of quiet sanctuary. Simple in form, their sense of luxury emerges quietly — through texture and touch rather than grand gesture. The soft vertical rib of the bathroom tiles adds a tactile warmth to the walls, while layer upon layer of soft furnishings in muted greens and earthy clay tones settle the senses and invite rest.
Living spaces were designed to feel enveloping rather than imposing — comfortable and considered in equal measure. Their relationship with both the surrounding interior and the landscape beyond was central to every decision. A restrained neutral palette forms the quiet foundation, while soft green rugs and earthy cushions bring warmth and a subtle echo of the natural world outside.
