Houzz Tour: Designer Reworks Her House for a New Owner
The house gets a contemporary-classic look for a client who fell in love with the property
It’s not often a designer gets to rework her family’s former home for a new client. But that’s what happened to Belinda Woolford. Her client Jo Saxe had lost her husband four years earlier and was ready to start a new chapter in her life. But after living in a large house on more than 7 acres of land, she was not ready for city living. One glimpse of the country house that Belinda and her husband, Mark, were leaving, and she was sold. Saxe loved the house, loved the garden and loved Woolford’s design style. And Woolford got the chance to rethink her house — which was originally designed for a couple and four children — for a single woman with visiting kids and grandkids.
The two wings of the house pivot around an angled hallway, with bedrooms in one wing, living in the other.
“I wanted to continue Belinda and Mark’s vision, the balance they had in the look, the landscaping and the design of the house,” Saxe says. “But I did want to put my vision into it, make changes that were my own.”
“I wanted to continue Belinda and Mark’s vision, the balance they had in the look, the landscaping and the design of the house,” Saxe says. “But I did want to put my vision into it, make changes that were my own.”
This entryway sits between the two wings, with large bifold windows to the side of the front door revealing tantalizing glimpses of the color and character that lies within.
The Woolfords had widened this hallway space, the first room you see when you step inside the home, into more of an informal living area, which was treated as a hangout and homework zone for their kids.
Wallpaper: Hicks Grand, Cole & Son, Icon Textiles; shelving paint: Bokara Grey, Resene
Wallpaper: Hicks Grand, Cole & Son, Icon Textiles; shelving paint: Bokara Grey, Resene
For Saxe, the space was perfect as a library, an ideal home for the medical books of her late husband, Ralph. “This was a place to show them off and have them there,” she says. “They were part of who he was and a part of my history.”
She also collects art and was thrilled to find the huge bird canvas now hanging in the hallway at a pop-up shop. It repeats the bright blue of the wallpaper and window seat. “It brings the outdoors in. When I saw it, I knew where it had to go.”
The paneling behind the wood stove was a happy accident, as the woodworker had saved the boards from a previous demolition.
She also collects art and was thrilled to find the huge bird canvas now hanging in the hallway at a pop-up shop. It repeats the bright blue of the wallpaper and window seat. “It brings the outdoors in. When I saw it, I knew where it had to go.”
The paneling behind the wood stove was a happy accident, as the woodworker had saved the boards from a previous demolition.
In the dining room, Woolford added dark linen curtains to make the space cozy and private for Saxe. The steel shelves were another happy accident. She’d originally used them to divide a large bedroom in two for her boys; split apart, they were the perfect finish to Saxe’s dining room, complementing her existing charcoal-colored dining chairs.
Curtains: Lune, Textilia; brass pendant lights: Douglas and Bec
Curtains: Lune, Textilia; brass pendant lights: Douglas and Bec
Saxe was happy to have Woolford find new homes for her old furniture, rather than buying new. But she was so taken with Woolford’s sideboard, a vintage find refurbished in a custom dark-pink lacquer, that she wanted one for herself.
Woolford obliged, using an old table from Saxe’s farmhouse and having it cut in half to fit the space. The outdoor chair, seen in the background, repeats the cheery shade.
Woolford obliged, using an old table from Saxe’s farmhouse and having it cut in half to fit the space. The outdoor chair, seen in the background, repeats the cheery shade.
Woolford designed her own layout, working with Kitchens by Healey to install the dark-stained American oak and white Caesarstone counter. The door at the back leads to a room with a second dishwasher and sink. The glass backsplash slides away to reveal the coffee maker and small appliances.
The huge scale of the living wing did not daunt Saxe. She was thrilled at how perfectly the furniture from her much larger old family home fit in. She got rid of a lot of pieces, then worked with Woolford moving favorites around to find the right spot. The raw finishes continued inside; concrete floors were installed with a new system that meant it didn’t have to be sealed.
Woolford added beams and posts in Australian hardwood that were salvaged from an old bridge. They were cleaned up and then left outside to weather and age to get the look she was after. The ceilings reach nearly 16 feet in this room, so Woolford kept up the scale with all the doors at about 9 feet.
Woolford added beams and posts in Australian hardwood that were salvaged from an old bridge. They were cleaned up and then left outside to weather and age to get the look she was after. The ceilings reach nearly 16 feet in this room, so Woolford kept up the scale with all the doors at about 9 feet.
Large sliding glass doors in the large living area at the end of this public wing lead to this covered outdoor lounge and entertaining area. The outdoor space was a bonus space for Saxe. The women furnished it with a collection of armchairs, and a swing chair Woolford found.
Photo by Elizabeth Goodall
Woolford says that she and her husband “had books coming out our ears,” so the sculptural inserts above the master bedroom were a great way to turn them into decor.
Woolford says that she and her husband “had books coming out our ears,” so the sculptural inserts above the master bedroom were a great way to turn them into decor.
For Saxe, the shelving became the perfect place for photos and memorabilia in what she kept as her home’s master bedroom.
Blinds: Romo, Seneca
Blinds: Romo, Seneca
Photo by Elizabeth Goodall
Woolford kept the design of the bathrooms clean and modern.
Woolford kept the design of the bathrooms clean and modern.
Photo by Elizabeth Goodall
The bathtub has a view of the gardens, now nicely matured under Saxe’s watchful planting.
The bathtub has a view of the gardens, now nicely matured under Saxe’s watchful planting.
Photo by Elizabeth Goodall
Woolford’s daughter had picked out a leafy wallpaper for her bedroom and paired it with a striking mix of black and white stripes and dots.
Woolford’s daughter had picked out a leafy wallpaper for her bedroom and paired it with a striking mix of black and white stripes and dots.
Saxe repapered in a sophisticated harlequin pattern that picked up the warm tones of the existing Romo blinds.
Wallpaper: Harlequin, Malcolm Fabrics
Wallpaper: Harlequin, Malcolm Fabrics
In another bedroom, Saxe kept Woolford’s striking paint finish. The triangle is a custom mix of pink and mauve, and the gray is Farrow & Ball’s Drainpipe, mixed for Woolford by Resene paints. The pendant light was a secondhand find.
While Woolford chose quiet neutrals for the public spaces, in the private rooms she punched up the colors. The decorators were appalled at her specifying a painted Anaglypta paper for the ceiling of the media room, which sits on the other side of the entryway, and tried to talk her out of it.
“Then on the day they finished that room, one of them came running out to me and said, ‘I’m going to do this at home too,’” she says with a laugh.
“Then on the day they finished that room, one of them came running out to me and said, ‘I’m going to do this at home too,’” she says with a laugh.
“I could make this my home, my safe place. I could move in all my furniture, artwork, bedspreads, rugs, cushions,” Saxe says. “I couldn’t believe it, it was that clever. I didn’t change a thing.”
Saxe had cultivated a huge country garden in her previous home, so with the help of her son, she set to work on the landscaping the Woolfords had started. She added deciduous trees for autumn color and more structure.
She modestly says her gardening is about maintaining the property, but she loves to spend whole days cutting and trimming, tucking in new plants to enjoy.
“I softened it to make it inviting for children and friends to stay,” Saxe says. “This feels like home. I think Belinda knows it is in safe hands.”
She modestly says her gardening is about maintaining the property, but she loves to spend whole days cutting and trimming, tucking in new plants to enjoy.
“I softened it to make it inviting for children and friends to stay,” Saxe says. “This feels like home. I think Belinda knows it is in safe hands.”
“It was an emotional time for Jo. She never thought she would move, but when she saw our house, it just felt right,” Woolford says. “It was quite a struggle for her, so it is so nice to know that she loves it.”
Builder: Wayne Irvin
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Builder: Wayne Irvin
Browse more homes by style: Apartments | Barn Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Floating Homes | Guesthouses | Homes Around the World | Lofts | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Small Homes | Townhouses | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | Vacation Homes
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Jo Saxe and her visiting family
Location: A rural spread outside Palmerston North, New Zealand
Size: Four bedrooms, two bathrooms
Year built: 2010, redecorated for a new owner in 2015
Designers: Belinda Woolford of Wall St Designs and architect Designgroup Stapleton Elliott
Woolford and her architects had designed the house in two wings, leveling the former sloping farmland to make room for the house and a gracious country-sized sweep of lawn. “We wanted a contemporary-classic look, something that wasn’t able to be pigeonholed,” she says. “We used timeless materials: painted cedar with louvres for ventilation, shuttered concrete. Raw and strong.”