Houzz Tour: Tudor Meets Scandi Style in New Zealand
A South Island stylist borrows Scandinavian tricks to bring light and coziness to her home
Interior designer and stylist Anna Begg used her years of experience designing five-star resorts in Australia to turn a dark, depressing former rental home into a light, inviting home for herself and partner Adam Baxter when she returned home to Wanaka, New Zealand, in late 2014.
The house had been built in the Tudor style — not common in this area, where stunning contemporary architecture is more the thing — but Begg was taken by the pitched roof, paneled walls and charming multipaned windows.
The house was hidden behind overgrown landscaping. The interior was paneled in dark wood and the carpets were dreadful. Very little light penetrated the gloom.
But Begg had spied all she needed: There were well-proportioned rooms, including separate living and dining rooms, and bedrooms tucked under beamed and pitched ceilings, with dormer windows. The bones of the bathrooms and kitchen were good.
But Begg had spied all she needed: There were well-proportioned rooms, including separate living and dining rooms, and bedrooms tucked under beamed and pitched ceilings, with dormer windows. The bones of the bathrooms and kitchen were good.
When she finally walked into her new home for the first time, Begg was delighted to find that the wood beams and paneling were solid — no fake additions here.
Once Begg and partner Adam Baxter had cleared the overgrowth nearest the house, the French doors and picture windows began to make sense. They could now be opened to outdoor patios, framing views of the best of the original trees, and the house was flooded with light.
Now the living areas have all-day sun and the yard has become a third living space for the long summer evenings of the far south.
Now the living areas have all-day sun and the yard has become a third living space for the long summer evenings of the far south.
Before they even moved in, Begg and Baxter went through the house painting everything white, from top to bottom. They then took great delight in ripping up the old carpets. The state of the floors — and the cold winters of Wanaka — prompted them to reinstall carpet throughout; they chose a precision loop pile from Cavalier Bremworth.
The lattice pattern in a multicolored textured loop pile combines the casual style of sisal with the warmth of wool.
The resulting look was good enough to be photographed recently for the flooring company’s catalog.
The lattice pattern in a multicolored textured loop pile combines the casual style of sisal with the warmth of wool.
The resulting look was good enough to be photographed recently for the flooring company’s catalog.
The original wood-burning fireplace was one of the few things that didn’t get the white treatment. A rich dark black makes the most of the interesting shapes of the fireplace, covering up a previously busy brick. Begg used matte paint on the bricks and a gloss on the mantle to bounce the light. It’s now a place to display the couple’s collection of black and white prints and photography.
Fireplace paint: Fuscous Grey, Resene
Fireplace paint: Fuscous Grey, Resene
Begg’s real skill came into play in furnishing the property on a budget of next to nothing. She knew she wanted to bring in a clean Scandinavian aesthetic, but after years of styling tropical resorts, she also wanted to layer in textiles from around the world.
The rattan chairs came from her parents’ house. Begg was particularly thrilled to score the linen sofa, originally from high-end retailer McKenzie & Willis, for about $150.
Reindeer hide: Kate Findlay; Aztec cushions: Ikea; linen drapes: homemade
The rattan chairs came from her parents’ house. Begg was particularly thrilled to score the linen sofa, originally from high-end retailer McKenzie & Willis, for about $150.
Reindeer hide: Kate Findlay; Aztec cushions: Ikea; linen drapes: homemade
“Nearly everything you see in the house is from the recycling center,” Begg says with a laugh. The local community runs a trading website, where people can freecycle unwanted furniture.
With her new home in the heart of South Island ski country, with plenty of sheep stations nearby, Begg was practically duty-bound to lavish her furniture with deer hides and Scandi-style sheepskins.
With her new home in the heart of South Island ski country, with plenty of sheep stations nearby, Begg was practically duty-bound to lavish her furniture with deer hides and Scandi-style sheepskins.
The 1980s kitchen was functional, just in need of some clever styling to bring it to Begg’s taste. An old ladder of her father’s was stained before being hung above the kitchen sink as a pot rack. Updated appliances and plenty of retro finds were sufficient to create a stylish hub for cooking and entertaining.
The layout of the house left room for a casual dining area, a chance for Begg to use her Tulip-style chairs and pedestal table — another vintage find.
The layout of the house left room for a casual dining area, a chance for Begg to use her Tulip-style chairs and pedestal table — another vintage find.
Begg layered Central Asian area rugs over the carpet. Her global mix also includes a hanging basket chair, one of the few pieces she kept from her former furniture business in Indonesia.
One of Begg’s best furniture sources was her dad’s farm shed in Balclutha, about three hours south of Wanaka on the coast. She discovered this sideboard under a bunch of implements; nobody seemed to recall where it had come from. It polished up beautifully and now makes a great home for the cocktail tray. The old wooden chairs, found at the recycling center, came out of a local church. The shelves on the backs originally held hymnals.
The old school desk in the hall is similar to ones Begg’s dad remembers from his days in a country classroom.
The lush greenery of the outside has been repeated in hanging plants and baskets throughout the house.
Tip: Begg recommends the grape ivy Cissus alata ‘Ellen Danica’
for easy-care hanging plants beside the kitchen; a maidenhair fern, Adiantum raddianum ‘Fragrans’, graces a rattan plant stand. Be careful to keep these delicate beauties in a sheltered spot — they don’t like drafts.
Another of her favorites is
the durable heartleaf philodendron, Philodendron scandens, and she uses
hoya, or wax plant (Hoya carnosa) for its shiny, leathery green leaves and waxy, fragrant pink flowers.
Tip: Begg recommends the grape ivy Cissus alata ‘Ellen Danica’
for easy-care hanging plants beside the kitchen; a maidenhair fern, Adiantum raddianum ‘Fragrans’, graces a rattan plant stand. Be careful to keep these delicate beauties in a sheltered spot — they don’t like drafts.
Another of her favorites is
the durable heartleaf philodendron, Philodendron scandens, and she uses
hoya, or wax plant (Hoya carnosa) for its shiny, leathery green leaves and waxy, fragrant pink flowers.
The terrific midcentury desk in this bedroom was salvaged from the local dump. Begg left on some of the old pink paint as a nod to its history, adding a deeper pink lamp (a thrift store find) and a sheepskin-topped bentwood chair. Just when Begg thinks she may have reached peak sheepskin, she spots another specimen and finds a spot for it.
The bathrooms were in good enough condition to need only a bit more white paint and some clever styling. Begg found the cactus shower curtain at H&M Home, and mimics its branched shape with more hanging plants.
Macrame plant hanger: The Workroom
Macrame plant hanger: The Workroom
Though she painted the heavy beams downstairs, Begg preferred to leave the wood exposed in the attic bedrooms. Textured plaster was painted over and the decor kept simple. Begg likes to create interesting lighting with vintage lamps and pendants.
Bedding: Kate Findlay; palm leaf cushions: gift from a friend
Bedding: Kate Findlay; palm leaf cushions: gift from a friend
More of Begg’s favorite textiles are layered on the white linen bedding. Sheer linen curtains are merely to filter the light; the luxuriant garden keeps the house private from passers-by. Begg wanted a bench at the foot of the bed so put out a call via her freecycling site. The piece just needed the green paint stripped off, and she can now style it with a changing display of books and accessories.
Vignettes created from Begg’s finds dot the house.
The dining table is cozied up with brass jugs and candlesticks, but in the summer Begg swaps them out for wildflowers and items from her garden. She doesn’t have much downtime from spring to autumn as her styling business is busy with weddings.
This summer Begg renovated a vintage trailer as The Caravan Bar, which is driven all around the South Island for parties and events.
This summer Begg renovated a vintage trailer as The Caravan Bar, which is driven all around the South Island for parties and events.
Begg loved that the fairytale house was framed by mature trees, even though tangled and overgrown undergrowth blocked the light and access to the yard. As Begg and Baxter pruned and cleared, they were delighted to find that underneath the jungle were the bones of a well-laid-out garden. They learned that a previous owner had been a landscaper and that his schist walls and paths were just waiting to be unearthed.
They rescued the sunniest part of the garden for an outdoor patio, complete with retro cone fireplace.
They rescued the sunniest part of the garden for an outdoor patio, complete with retro cone fireplace.
Even outdoors, Begg and Baxter have embraced vintage light fittings that complement their Tudor-meets-Scandi style.
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Who lives here: Anna Begg, Adam Baxter and Bella the dog
Location: Wanaka, South Island, New Zealand
Size: 1,292 square feet (120 square meters); three bedrooms, two bathrooms
Designer: Anna Begg of The Workroom
Anna Begg must have a very good eye, because she bought her house in the growing resort town of Wanaka, deep in the heart of New Zealand’s South Island, sight unseen. She was planning a return to New Zealand after working on luxury resorts around Australia’s Byron Bay, and she’d been scouting the online auction site Trade Me. A 1980s house caught her eye, and even though her parents, who had been dispatched to check out the property, reported back that it was a dark, sad old rental, Begg was charmed by the bones of the house and knew she could rescue it easily.