Middle-earth comes to Lambton Quay
LAMBTON QUAY business owner Phil Saxby and Wellington designer Karen Cubis Smith have joined forces to create a peaceful inner-city haven with a familiar theme.
Two rooms in Parsonage Cafe, formerly part of the much-loved Parsons Books and Music, have had a Lord of the Rings- style makeover.
Saxby moved his gift store, Sommerfields, into the heritagelisted Massey House last August. The upstairs cafe and rooms are now named the Hobbit Room and Edoras.
Saxby says the cafe is visited by former Parsons customers every day. ‘‘A lot of the people are old faithfuls.’’
Patrons have had to be patient waiting for the makeover to be revealed, with an estimated two months of work turning into six months.
Cubis Smith estimates she spent 1000 hours on the project, designing and making as many items as possible from scratch.
She sourced landscape photos and larger items of furniture online, refurbishing them into the style of Bilbo Baggins’ study and a balcony with a view to the Rohan city of Edoras.
The designer is particularly pleased with a model of the dragon Smaug, which she made to cover up a long pipe along the wall of the Hobbit Room.
‘‘I saw the pipe and said ‘oh no, we can’t move that, can we?’ And then I just realised this was the way to do it, with Smaug’s head facing you, so he’s really in the room,’’ Cubis Smith explains.
Saxby admits the extended timeframe was ‘‘a little bit scary’’, but says the attention to detail has made it worth it.
Original features in the shop and cafe include much of the flooring, the distinctive staircase and the arched doorway leading into the Hobbit Room.
The name Parsonage Cafe was chosen as an affectionate tribute to the bookshop, and it regularly plays Bach, a favourite of the previous owners.
Saxby was also able to bring back Helen Brice, who was a chef at the old cafe for six years.
‘‘She’s under strict instructions not to use recipes after the 1972 edition of Edmonds Cookery Book. It’s traditional Kiwi food, good basic food and probably hobbit food too.’’