On the cover: A seaside Taranaki home has been the best medicine for its owner.

Sea, surfers and sunsets – the views from this Taranaki home prove soothing for body and soul

When Caroline and Craig Nolly bought an award-winning house by the sea in May 2014, they had no idea it would be a place of great healing. The retro-style New Plymouth home overlooks The Gap, a surfing spot between East End and Fitzroy beaches; a soothing space for Craig to recover from multiple surgeries after his bowel burst while on holiday in Cuba.

That was in April 2017. “We went on a three-week holiday and came back eight weeks later with him nearly dead,” Caroline says. His health was so dire, the couple’s four children flew over to be with him after he was airlifted to a hospital in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

When he finally got home Craig, who co-owns a life and health insurance advisory company, was overcome with the beauty of the house and view. “Craig walked in here and just cried and said: ‘Why was I on the other side of the world?’”

He didn’t work for about 16 months and a great deal of that time was spent in one of four Italian swivel chairs in the lounge, watching the sea, surfers and sunsets. “My life is so good now,” he says.

Designed by Tony Biesiek of Imagine Building Design in 2012, the two-storey home took out two

regional architectural awards the following year.

Craig and Caroline were planning to build a new house near the city centre – until they found the concrete block and timber home.

“When we came and looked at this, we fell in love with it,” Craig says. “It had everything we wanted without going to the trouble of building it.”

Craig, a carpenter and cabinetmaker before going into insurance, appreciates the raw materials of the house. “It’s got harsh surfaces, so we wanted to work with those.”

The three-bedroom home not only overlooks the Tasman Sea; its vista includes a grassy reserve, the Coastal Walkway and an ever-changing sky.

Double-glazing, a membrane roof, heated floors top and bottom and a flickering fire in the lounge keep the home cosy, especially in the face of a storm.

“Sometimes you feel like you are in a washing machine it can be so violent, and the next day we have a flat blue sea and we can’t believe it,” Craig says.

Caroline is one of the weather watchers for a group of early morning bathers. She joined the hardy women at the start of August and has swum every day, except when the sea is too wild or she and Craig are away. “I don’t go right under,” she says.

The travel agent walks Parker, their Maltese dog, on the black sand every day, so sees the swimming as another connection to the beach.

While they opt for an uncluttered interior aesthetic, the couple does have mementos from

‘Every room but the bathrooms has a view of the sea’

overseas trips, plus some older-style pieces including swans with a mother-of-pearl sheen. “It’s a retro house – we can get away with putting the old with the new,” Caroline says. “We pick up things when we travel and on a road trip we stop at antiques stores.”

Their collection of paintings is also growing. “Art can be something you enjoy and doesn’t have to match,” Craig says.

But the best artwork of all is the windows framing the coast. The Nollys make the most of the views from their deck too. Three of their children live close by, so visit often for barbecues and to sit around the gas fire pit.

“Typically, after dinner in summer we will sit out here and have a wine and watch the surfers,” Caroline says.

Downstairs are two bedrooms, the “kids’ lounge”, another bathroom, and an outside spa pool.

“There’s one thing about the house – every room but the bathrooms has a view of the sea,” Craig says. “It’s pretty intimate with the environment. We are right there.”

THIS PAGE A panelled glass sliding door allows light into the entrance of the top floor and kitchen in the New Plymouth house owned by Caroline and Craig Nolly; the painting on the left is by Hawke’s Bay artist Kate MacKenzie. OPPOSITE Poor Knights lilies and kentia palms reach towards the carport which frames a view of the Tasman Sea, more lilies and the trunks of towering South African aloes.

THESE PAGES (from left) Caroline and Craig with their Maltese dog Parker on the main deck that overlooks The Gap surfing spot, which can attract up to 100 surfers when the waves are pumping. Formal chairs recovered in green and grey fabric are joined by a Ghost chair by Philippe Starck for Kartell in the simple kitchen which features timber veneer cabinetry with flush handles and a hidden refrigerator.

THIS PAGE (clockwise from top) At weekends Caroline and Craig have breakfast at the concrete outdoor table and in warmer weather they try to eat in the fresh air every night. A painting by Whanganui artist Jodi Clark hangs on the kitchen wall outside the office, which has a built-in cabinet for mementos and books. The clean lines of the kitchen lead to a scullery which Caroline has now reorganised four times. OPPOSITE In the lounge, an avocado-hued piece of lacquerware sits atop a Humpty coffee table and footstools from Kovacs Design Furniture; the cushions are from King & Teppett Interior Design in Palmerston North.

THIS PAGE (from top) The entranceway alcove is decorated with a rug from King & Teppett, a restored antique chair, a Chinese sideboard, large warrior sculptures and a picture of the entrance to China’s Forbidden City. Six tiny windows in the stacked block concrete wall at the entrance, project more light on to the floating staircase. OPPOSITE (from top) Bedding and pillows from Bianca Lorenne enliven the master bedroom. Offering a splash of colour in the kids’ lounge are a painting by artist Isaac Petersen, a rug from Plantation Design Store, and a metal artwork from RJ Eagar, all from New Plymouth.

THESE PAGES Lights inside and outside the Nolly house highlight two intricate design features – Casting Shadows,a powder-coated steel artwork by Jamie Adamson found at Black Door Gallery in Auckland, and the aluminium marine-coated gate, the pattern of which is replicated beneath the kitchen bench and on a new automated front gate down the driveway.

THIS PAGE (from top) The horizon is ablaze as the sun dips below the Tasman Sea; when it’s dark, this corner of the deck is lit with a fire pit. Silhouetted by a dazzling dusk sky are Paritutu Rock and the now-obsolete power station chimney which sit behind Port Taranaki.