WORK OF ART
Light and shade, texture and colour have turned this artist’s own home into her biggest artwork yet, writes ROBYN WELSH
Britt Alpe is one artist who does more than stand by her work. She lives it and breathes it for the satisfaction of a finished work hanging on her wall.
“You could say that this is my biggest artwork,” she says of her family’s villa transformation.
“I’m a stay-at-mother and a painter. I work in this space and I surround myself with what is important to me. My focus is light and shade and that has always been my passion. so when we renovated this house I wanted to create a work of art.”
Her quest to create a “cosy, comfy” home for her husband and their two children began when he happily handed her the creative to realise her dream. His only two “must haves” were a double garage and cold filtered water. He got his water but their decision to extend the existing single garage to include a rear office/ studio has more than doubled its payback.
The plywood-lined, lightfilled studio opens out to the view across their pool that was rendered to match its tiled backdrop. The deck links the entry into the garage with the full-width deck they added when extending the preexisting deck.
“It’s a slightly larger site than most of the other properties on the Avenues,” says Bayley’s Edward Pack, referring to the neighbouring streets off Jervois Rd. “Having the ability to have five cars off-street is exceptionally rare and sought after in this location.”
Britt commissioned Jose Gutierrez, the Peruvian-born, New Zealand-trained graduate architect and builder Mike MacDonald for their experience with similar projects. Her and Jose’s shared focus on natural light and shade is evident in every choice of material inside and out.
Ceiling battens beneath the skylights, with discreet integrated lighting, create what Britt describes as a “moving artwork” because of the filtered light. “It’s not too dominant because of the light,” says Jose. “It feels as if it is hovering.” They replicated the linear form on the vertical back fence. “The ceiling draws the eye upwards. It is like a full-stop at the back of the site. At the same time, the natural light from the pool is reflected back inside,” he says.
Britt’s love of colour and texture is apparent through the interiors too. In their kitchen and scullery splashback, their tiler applied all 1233 ceramic dots by hand. “I’m all about the texture and this just feels amazing to touch,” she says.
Four trips to Italian Stone in Auckland rewarded her with the slabs for her island bench, the veins of which needed to match perfectly on both planes. A sourcing trip to Los Angeles turned up homewares including brushed chrome and floor tiles. “I just went to see what I could find and filled the gaps when I got home.”
Balancing the villa/ contemporary aesthetic was a top priority. “I wanted to keep the high ceilings which were why we didn’t build up,” she says. Now they are shifting out, most likely to the eastern suburbs, for their children’s long-term schooling. Sale: Auction July 1
Contact: Edward Pack, Bayleys, 021 428 241
“My focus is light and shade and that has always been my passion. so when we renovated this house I wanted to create a work of art.”