How Kiwi Live: A peek inside interior designer Kristina Pickford’s Otama sanctuary

Kristina Pickford and her husband, Micheal Wolfe’s home in Otama, on the beautiful Coromandel Peninsula, is not just an architectural structure; it is the culmination of ten years of planning and a deeply felt philosophy about connecting with the land. 

The celebrated interior designer created a restorative sanctuary that perfectly reflects her belief that home should be a nurturing place, intrinsically linked to the landscape.

Describe your home style in three words.
I think you’d describe my home style as natural, unostentatious and crafted.

What does home mean to you?
A place that's really nurturing and connected to the land and the landscape. That's really important for me for a home.

On entertaining in the house - Manaakitanga

It's a really welcoming home to entertain in. We tend to entertain in a casual and relaxed way.

What you’re most proud of in your home?

I think what I'm most proud of is the way that the home and the landscape harmonise together.

How and where do you start the morning?

Mornings generally start with getting up together and going for a swim or a run or walk on a good day. Followed by coffee and breakfast, sitting at the dining table and reading the news.

How and where do you end the day?

Probably much like everyone else's. Either watching a movie or reading. Sometimes we'll sit outside in front of the fire and read or have a glass of wine out there - that's a really lovely way to spend an evening.

On living in Otama

Living in Otama is fantastic. It's such a beautiful, beautiful part of the world and the beach is truly magical. Where we are is just so private, and all we see is trees and the ocean. It's really calming and restorative.

Your favourite item in the home?

My favourite item in the house is a pendant light that we got in Finland, in Helsinki about 25 years ago. It's been with us in three homes, and it's designed by Finnish architect Paavo Tynell. It's a really beautiful object, and it reminds me of a very happy period in my life.

Favourite memory in the home?

I think it has to be the day we moved in and the first night here. It was the culmination of five years of planning and planting and designing and hope and expectation, I suppose. And then that first night being here just felt like this incredible release of, ‘oh, it's happened, we're here, it is real life. It is our home.’

What’s the best seat in the house - Tūrangawaewae?

Definitely has to be the window seat in the living room, looking out to the beautiful rocks and the headland named Motuhua Point. That window seat and that view were focal points in the design of the dwelling. I mean, there are views everywhere, but sitting right up next to that view is very special.

What is something you bought in anticipation of moving in?

We had a number of items that we really wanted to incorporate into the design of the house. and one of those things was a really large photographic work by Haru Sameshima.

It is a wonderful photograph of a waterfall in Fiordland. Fiordland happens to be one of my favourite places in the world. I really wanted a small piece of Fiordland here in the Coromandel, as unusual as that might sound.

And in fact, the surrounding cabinetry was designed to house the Haru work. It's become very incorporated into the home, which I like.

What’s the biggest DIY win… or fail you’ve had here?

I was really involved in the whole project on a day-to-day basis.  I worked closely with the architect Rory Koefod from PAC Studio -  it was a real collaborative process. But in terms of the most hands-on thing I did, where I really got my hands dirty, was, together with friends,  the charring of the timber at the back of the house - the Shou Sugi Ban technique of preserving weatherboards. It was a rewarding feeling.

Te Whare Tapa Whā

There's a well-known Māori model for wellbeing, Te Whare Tapa Whā, that compares health to a strong house with four essential walls.

Taha Tinana – physical wellbeing. How does this house help you rest, recharge, and stay physically well?

It's really great coming back to this house after being in the heart of downtown Auckland where we spend the other half of our life. Then we come here and just being in this environment, in this home, you can decompress and take a breath and get back to feeling at one with yourself and nature, I suppose.

Taha Hinengaro – your mental and emotional wellbeing. Is there a part of your home that acts as a sanctuary or brings you peace?

For me, being connected to the land and doing things like planting trees, planting vegetables, growing things gives me a great sense of peace and connectedness. It’s actually really essential for my wellbeing. That's when I'm in my happy place, really. It's when I'm outside doing those things with my hands in the soil.

Taha Whānau – your family and social wellbeing. How does this home support your connection with the people you care about?

When we designed the place, we were thinking about how we wanted to use it. To be able to share it with our friends and family was really, really important, and we wanted the house  to offer a joyful and wonderful experience for us and those who visit.  

It was really important to me when we were designing the house - in fact it was an integral part of the design brief - that people should walk, or journey, through the landscape, over a little bridge, through the bush, and then enter from the rear of the dwelling and then to experience the beautiful view and the timber crafted interior. The idea was that it would feel really embracing and warm and special - and make people feel good.