Our perfect place
Room of the week
When you sink into the sofa in Russell and Jen Webley’s living room, you’re below water level. That’s not normally desirable in post-quake Christchurch, but a sunken lounge was one of the prerequisites in a house its owners declare to be perfect. In the original 2010 plan, the pond was swimming pool, but, for quake-wary Jen, the thought of drowning in a miniature homemade tsunami put paid to that. Besides, the logistics of covering the pool were complicated and costly.
Russell and Jen say they wouldn’t change one thing about their Fendalton house, which was designed by Darren O’Neil of O’Neil Architecture. ‘‘He’s extremely good at space planning and we love the look of his buildings. We’ve been on the same page for every decision,’’ says Jen.
The couple were both drawn to this section close to Canterbury University. ‘‘It was beautiful, like the Botanic Gardens, with huge flowering cherries and even palm trees,’’ says Russell.
They removed the old house on it and designed two houses to complement each other, keeping the back one for themselves. It’s light and spacious, with a floating staircase connecting the two storeys. At its heart is the kitchen and dining area, which drops down into the sunken lounge, where water laps at the windowsills.
Why did you decide to build a sunken lounge?
We happily locked on to this idea very early on. It started with a classic ‘‘form follows function’’ maxim – we wanted to make the room intimate and be able to accommodate around 10 people for drinks and chat, and we felt that the sunken idea would help us achieve that.
When did you decide to add the water element?
We added the water component right at the outset and, although in the end we abandoned the pool idea, we kept the connection between the lounge and the water, achieving the ‘‘water at elbow height’’ concept with a wraparound pond.
What are the key decor features of this space?
The sofas were custom-built for this room, which is why they’re so snug – they’re covered in a no-fade, synthetic fabric to protect them from the sun which streams in all day. The light is a George Nelson Saucer Bubble Lamp and the painting is by Christchurch artist Julie Williams.
How would you describe your decorating style?
Understated, simple elegance. We’re both sure our home’s look and feel will still be fresh in 20 years.
What’s the bravest thing you did during the build?
Just embarking on such a massive project. We built two homes and won the MBAHouse of the Year and McKenzie & Willis Best Interior awards for the front home, which we sold before building our own. The home is well beyond our expectations, and they were pretty high!
Is there anything you would do differently?
We wouldn’t change a thing: not a plant, not a stone, not anything. It’s perfect. The end result was superb – seating for up to a dozen; a wonderful aspect from the kitchen and dining area across the living room to the pool and the lush garden beyond.
Why do you think your vision was successful?
We put all the elements we could possibly want into the house and garden.
PLANT SOME MINI TURNIPS IN A POT UNDER COVER
Crunching into a baby turnip is a real treat. Start an early row under a cloche in a warm raised bed or plant in a bucket indoors.
Try ‘Tokyo White Cross’ or ‘Snowball’ – both from Kings Seeds. They look like round, white radishes and can be picked when they’re about 4-5cm across. Turnips prefer the cooler growing conditions of early spring or late autumn.
Plant seeds about 10cm apart in a grid pattern or in rows.
When they reach pickable size, take out alternate turnips so the remaining roots have space to grow up to 15cm across. Mine have never reached 15cm. In fact they never even reach the kitchen! They get a quick rinse under the hose and are eaten as garden snacks.
If you have more self-control than I do, try them sliced or grated into salads, served with dip or added to a stir-fry. Small, tender leaves can be added to a stir-fry or steamed like spinach.
FILL IN THE GAPS BETWEEN SLOW GROWERS
The recommended spacings between big cabbage, kale or cauliflower varieties can be from 45-60cm apart. That leaves a lot of bare soil between each tiny seedling at planting time. It’s no big deal if you’ve got a large vege patch but it’s wasted space in a smaller garden.
These bare patches are also prime spots for weeds to take over. It’s going to take a while before those cabbages need the whole 60 x 60cm area. In the meantime a quick growing crop of radishes, lettuce or spinach could make use of the space.
Think of the area as a grid of squares with a cabbage (or a chilli or eggplant) at the centre. There’s room for a small loose-leaf lettuce, a spinach plant, a few spring onions or half a dozen radishes at the corner of each square.
Don’t plant right up against the main plant so its roots won’t be disturbed when these filler plants are harvested.
These are also great places to grow companion plants like marigolds or something pretty, like pansies.
TEST THE VIABILITY OF SAVED SEEDS
Have you got a collection of halfused seed packets from years gone by? Even if they’ve been kept cool and dry, viability decreases with time. Pre-sprouting or chitting some seed will let you know if it’s worth sowing the rest of the packet. Space out 5-10 seeds on a damp paper towel. Enclose in a resealable plastic bag or lidded plastic container. Put in a warm place such as on top of the fridge or an incubator.
Check daily for any seeds starting to swell and producing a root. If the whole batch sprouts, you can be confident about using the rest of the packet. If only one or two sprout you’ll know to cut your losses and buy new seed. Or if they are hard to replace, start with more seed to get a few through to maturity.
Don’t waste the chitted seeds either. Plant them, still attached to a piece of the paper towel, into a punnet of moist seed-raising mix. Put the punnet into a plastic bag or an incubator and wait for the first leaves to appear.
Grow them on until ready to transplant outside.
BUILD A LUXURY HIGH-RISE FOR HELPFUL BUGS
Flowering plants attract beneficial insects, and to keep them in your garden you’ll need to provide water and shelter as well. Shallow plant saucers with a flat stone to act as a landing pad make great watering holes. Shelter can be as simple as some long grass, a pile of logs or a thick layer of leaf litter.
Bug hotels are fun to set up too, especially with child helpers. The bug hotel pictured is an old wine box filled with bits and pieces from the garden – broken pots, hollow stems, old bamboo stakes, bundles of cabbage tree leaves and rotting wood. A skink, several weta and lots of fat spiders have taken up residence already.
GET OUTSIDE AND BEAT THE WINTER BLUES
Long days in the office mean we leave home before it’s light and it’s dark by the time we get home.
Cold, rainy days also encourage us to hibernate inside. It’s easy to get run down or moody in winter even without a full-blown case of SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder).
A daily dose of sunlight resets our body clocks and is also linked to lowered blood pressure, better sleep and even less grumpiness. So even on a dreary day, make the effort to get out into the garden.
There is always something to see – raindrops on a spider web, new bulbs poking out of the ground or charming grape hyacinths in flower.
Barbara Smith