Lay of the land

A split-level house set into a clifftop took design inspiration from the rugged Taranaki coastline

- Catherine Steel

MAKE AN ENTRANCE

Homeowner Sally McDonald, pictured with Ian the Welsh springer spaniel, chose Resene Half Merino for her walls the perfect shade to display the family's art collection. The rug at the entrance is from Bijou Eliot.

A home always tells the story of those who inhabit it, but it can also pay homage to where it stands. Sally McDonald and her husband Nick O’Dea embraced a connection to the land when they built their family home on the clifftops in Moturoa, New Plymouth. Perched high above the rugged coastline, they love to look out over to the port and ocean waves below.

The New Plymouth-based couple bought the section in 2017, drawn to the site for its ability to be subdivided and build new, which they did two years later. Now the fourbedroom home is home to the family of five. “We moved into the existing house (which was later sold) on the site while we built; it was the first big project we undertook together.”

FINISHING TOUCHES

Sally and Nick were selective where they splurged, using high door heights and designer door hardware throughout to keep the finishes cohesive. In the living area (opposite), the custom coffee table is by The Arc Dept, the orange floral cushion and the cushion with teal pom poms are both from Bonnie and Neil, and the curved timber chair from Bijou Eliot.

Not long prior, the couple had met at a friend’s wedding in Hawke’s Bay. Nick, an engineer, was living in New Plymouth, and Sally, an interior designer, was living in Melbourne, working for Australia-based DKO Architecture. “We managed a long-distance relationship for a year,” Sally says. “Then I moved here and kept working for DKO Architecture.”