The Breathtaking Beauty of New Zealand's Most Spectacular Homes
These are the most popular design photos from around New Zealand, each earning its designer a 2018 Best of Houzz badge
Over the past 12 months, these photos were among the most saved by New Zealanders looking to Houzz for inspiration for their home, and for upcoming building/renovation projects. The most-saved images earned building designers, architects, interior designers and other residential renovating professionals a Best of Houzz design badge. If you see one of these awards on the profile of a professional on Houzz, now you know what it means – that one of his or her projects is among the most popular on Houzz!
Read on for a selection of the most-saved New Zealand photos, and let us know which is your favourite in the Comments at the end of the story.
Read on for a selection of the most-saved New Zealand photos, and let us know which is your favourite in the Comments at the end of the story.
Designer: Ainsworth + Collinson
Built-in seating and a cleverly designed pool make the most of the views over Tuki Tuki Valley near Havelock North.
Built-in seating and a cleverly designed pool make the most of the views over Tuki Tuki Valley near Havelock North.
Designer: Goom Landscapes
Outdoor entertaining becomes a whole lot easier with a set-up like this, and it works like a magnet the minute a guest steps outside.
Outdoor entertaining becomes a whole lot easier with a set-up like this, and it works like a magnet the minute a guest steps outside.
Designer: jessop architects
Who needs a TV when you have the flames of an outdoor fire to lose yourself in, and the warmth of overhead heaters? A curving sofa, meanwhile, breaks from tradition.
Who needs a TV when you have the flames of an outdoor fire to lose yourself in, and the warmth of overhead heaters? A curving sofa, meanwhile, breaks from tradition.
Designer: Patterson Associates
There’s no shortage of incredible vistas in New Zealand, and this one – from an iconic coastal sheep and cattle station in Scrubby Bay – is no exception. All this deck needs to bring it to life is a fire pit.
There’s no shortage of incredible vistas in New Zealand, and this one – from an iconic coastal sheep and cattle station in Scrubby Bay – is no exception. All this deck needs to bring it to life is a fire pit.
The exterior of the same home also proved one of the year’s most-saved photos on Houzz – for obvious reasons! We love that the house has a low profile that allows it to nestle into the hills, and that its timber tones blend so effortlessly with its rural surrounds.
See more of this house
See more of this house
Kitchens
Designer: Mal Corboy Design
A palette of grey and white defines this luxurious Tamahere kitchen – and the sinks at either end of the island are positively envy-inducing.
Designer: Mal Corboy Design
A palette of grey and white defines this luxurious Tamahere kitchen – and the sinks at either end of the island are positively envy-inducing.
Designer: Tse:Wallace Architects Ltd
A view like this helps, but so does some design imagination. Overlooking Korokoro Gorge in Wellington, this home is anything but ordinary.
A view like this helps, but so does some design imagination. Overlooking Korokoro Gorge in Wellington, this home is anything but ordinary.
Designer: Ingrid Geldof Design
Natural timber paired with black and white is a combination that will never go out of style, and this one is made all the more lovely with lashings of natural light. The pendants hung at different heights add a thoughtful detail, giving this kitchen some swagger.
Natural timber paired with black and white is a combination that will never go out of style, and this one is made all the more lovely with lashings of natural light. The pendants hung at different heights add a thoughtful detail, giving this kitchen some swagger.
Designer: Dorrington Atcheson Architects
Concrete has taken residential interiors and exteriors by storm over the past year, and pairs perfectly with black. This Kawau Island holiday home has an abundance of light-toned timber, which serves to temper all that black.
Concrete has taken residential interiors and exteriors by storm over the past year, and pairs perfectly with black. This Kawau Island holiday home has an abundance of light-toned timber, which serves to temper all that black.
Designer: Sonya Cotter
Striking pendants and an appealing mix of textures and tones make this kitchen one to aspire to.
Striking pendants and an appealing mix of textures and tones make this kitchen one to aspire to.
Designer: jessop architects
Island benches that incorporate space for stools usually require storage space to be sacrificed. Not this one, however.
Browse more NZ kitchen photos
Island benches that incorporate space for stools usually require storage space to be sacrificed. Not this one, however.
Browse more NZ kitchen photos
Designer: Christian Anderson Architects
Perched on remote Owhanake Headland on Waiheke Island, this house has a warm and welcoming feel thanks to the use of weathered timber, a calming colour palette, and a casual layout that encourages togetherness.
Perched on remote Owhanake Headland on Waiheke Island, this house has a warm and welcoming feel thanks to the use of weathered timber, a calming colour palette, and a casual layout that encourages togetherness.
Designer: Arthouse Architects
A kitchen that can be secluded from the bustle of family life is a dream come true for some home chefs, with the added benefit of containing cooking smells from the rest of the home as required. This one in Tasman Bay, Nelson, features elegant cabinets inspired by Japanese tansu (cabinetry).
A kitchen that can be secluded from the bustle of family life is a dream come true for some home chefs, with the added benefit of containing cooking smells from the rest of the home as required. This one in Tasman Bay, Nelson, features elegant cabinets inspired by Japanese tansu (cabinetry).
Bathrooms
Designer: August & Co Design
We love a bathroom design that dares to be a little different. This Auckland creation draws inspiration from the past to produce a bathroom with more than a hint of glamour.
Designer: August & Co Design
We love a bathroom design that dares to be a little different. This Auckland creation draws inspiration from the past to produce a bathroom with more than a hint of glamour.
Designer: Form Design
Lighting can make all the difference when it comes to turning a bathroom into a masterpiece.
Lighting can make all the difference when it comes to turning a bathroom into a masterpiece.
Designer: Suburban Solutions
A wet room makes the most of a small space, as does a shower door that slides rather than swinging open.
A wet room makes the most of a small space, as does a shower door that slides rather than swinging open.
Designer: CoLab Architecture
Moody bathrooms are making their mark on homes across the globe, and turning bathing spaces into soothing retreats – as this one does in its Christchurch abode.
Moody bathrooms are making their mark on homes across the globe, and turning bathing spaces into soothing retreats – as this one does in its Christchurch abode.
Living areas
Designer: Herbst Architects
Drawing inspiration from the bark and cut timber of the surrounding pohutukawa trees, this holiday home in Piha, Auckland, becomes more intriguing the longer you look at it.
Designer: Herbst Architects
Drawing inspiration from the bark and cut timber of the surrounding pohutukawa trees, this holiday home in Piha, Auckland, becomes more intriguing the longer you look at it.
Kiwis loved the exterior of this house too, saving it to their ideabooks at a furious rate.
Designer: Herriot Melhuish O’Neill Architecture
Beautiful need not always mean big. The fireplace makes this living room sing, its hearth extending right through to the outdoor fireplace and lounge area.
Beautiful need not always mean big. The fireplace makes this living room sing, its hearth extending right through to the outdoor fireplace and lounge area.
Designer: Bull O’Sullivan Architecture
The ceiling in this interesting Auckland home is meant to act as a metaphorical protective cloak thrown over the family in residence. The chevron-patterned ceiling is echoed on the kitchen floor.
The ceiling in this interesting Auckland home is meant to act as a metaphorical protective cloak thrown over the family in residence. The chevron-patterned ceiling is echoed on the kitchen floor.
Designer: Anna-Marie Chin Architects
New Zealand has a knack for making plywood work in a home, delivering both good looks and functionality without breaking the bank.
Read more about the use of timber in New Zealand homes
New Zealand has a knack for making plywood work in a home, delivering both good looks and functionality without breaking the bank.
Read more about the use of timber in New Zealand homes
Entrances
Designer: Arthouse Architects
Japan meets NZ in this home, the entry offering a delightful mix of pattern, tone and texture with proportions grand enough to let visitors know a pretty special interior awaits them when they step in through the front door.
Designer: Arthouse Architects
Japan meets NZ in this home, the entry offering a delightful mix of pattern, tone and texture with proportions grand enough to let visitors know a pretty special interior awaits them when they step in through the front door.
Designer: Masonry Design Solutions
This entrance features similar proportions and uses symmetry to amplify the grand feel. Oversized planters lead the eye to the front door.
This entrance features similar proportions and uses symmetry to amplify the grand feel. Oversized planters lead the eye to the front door.
Exteriors
Designer: Taylored Spaces
Built to complement rather than compete with the old church next to which it sits, this Waipahi fishing cabin achieves a lot within a small footprint.
Designer: Taylored Spaces
Built to complement rather than compete with the old church next to which it sits, this Waipahi fishing cabin achieves a lot within a small footprint.
Designer: Crosson Architects
Located on Coromandel Peninsula on the North Island, this 40-square-metre holiday house can be completely closed up when not in use.
Located on Coromandel Peninsula on the North Island, this 40-square-metre holiday house can be completely closed up when not in use.
Designer: Neil McLachlan Interior Design
As lovely on the outside as it is on the inside, this well-cared-for home will no doubt linger as a long-time favourite among Houzzers.
As lovely on the outside as it is on the inside, this well-cared-for home will no doubt linger as a long-time favourite among Houzzers.
Designer: Studio2 Architects
With the water this close to your doorstep, who wouldn’t want to embrace it? Your eye is drawn to the shores of the beach, seen through the front entrance, the minute your arrive.
Tell us
Which of these homes is your favourite? Share your thoughts in the Comments below and save the photos into your own ideabook for future reference.
More
Browse more beautiful kiwi homes
With the water this close to your doorstep, who wouldn’t want to embrace it? Your eye is drawn to the shores of the beach, seen through the front entrance, the minute your arrive.
Tell us
Which of these homes is your favourite? Share your thoughts in the Comments below and save the photos into your own ideabook for future reference.
More
Browse more beautiful kiwi homes
Designer: Wall St Designs
Adding an outdoor space designed to suit all seasons is a lifestyle-enhancing move.