A Sense of Space

Beside a shelter belt of wild macrocarpa on Nigel Brown and Sue McLaughlin’s Southland property there’s a curious 6m-high timber structure. It could be a birdwatcher’s hide or an oversized tree hut. In fact, it’s a testament to this couple’s love for their adopted landscape.

 

 

“My favourite time for the light here is sunset,” says Sue. “It’s just amazing. The sun reflects off Old Man Rock, across the Long Woods…” Nigel finishes the thought: “And so we had to build a tower to access that.”

 

 

 

The move here in 2001 was a dramatic shift for the Auckland artist, known for his Pacific themes. But after three years of holidaying at their stucco house in Cosy Nook, half an hour from Riverton, Nigel and Sue had been falling more and more in love with the place. “When we came to decide where to live, it wasn’t hard,” says Sue. “It was a pleasure restoring the place, but it needed a lot of work.”

 

The home featured in NZ House & Garden in September 2003, when they were still settling in, and the years since have been busy ones. There was much they didn’t want to change, such as the frontage – virtually original aside from the improved flower garden and the culling of some scrubby sycamores. But they desperately needed more space.

 

 

And when it came to designing an extension they didn’t want just to look at the salt-ravaged vista, they wanted to embrace it. “We wanted the expanse,” says Nigel. “We wanted a lot of glazing so we could engage with the seascape. Which is quite weird in such a harsh climate, especially facing south.”

 

To the small bungalow they’ve added a modern wing with kitchen, dining and lounge looking onto churning Foveaux Strait. You also look back the way you’ve come, to a meandering country road immortalised in many of Nigel’s landscapes.

 

The extension’s high stud and white walls make it tempting to call the space gallery-like but an affectionate jumble of knick-knacks and artwork – woven op shop treasures, Barry Brickell pottery, family mosaics – eliminates any sense of a curated collection.

 

 

When the renovation was complete in 2003, it was time to turn their attention to other building needs – a new studio for Nigel and room for Sue’s collection of Crown Lynn domestic ware. This time, instead of modernism, they wanted a style that melded with the rural aesthetic of the outbuildings. The new double-storey building, with its raw weatherboards, looks for all the world like a farmhouse. Inside, it provides Nigel with a cavernous studio and Sue a dedicated room for her collection.

 

 

“It meant I could paint bigger,” says Nigel. “But it did take me a while to adjust to the freshness of a new place. It needed some ‘painting in’ – some drips on the floor – before I could relax in it completely.”

 

He’s still captivated by the Southland landscape – but, inspired by a recent trip to Germany, he’s now depicting it in bright colours that leap off the canvas. “I’m not wedded to being as sombre as the landscape around me. [The work] doesn’t have to echo those colours.”

 

 

Upstairs, Sue’s “Crown Lynn Room” doubles as a guest- room-cum-thinking-space. Her collection – pieced together over more than 10 years of combing op shops – ranges from the humble and instantly recognisable to rare floral pieces from the 1930s, carefully housed on purpose-built shelves.

 

“People get overwhelmed by it. They are reduced to tears, or laughter, or horror. I think it gets a strong response because of the sheer display of it – Crown Lynn has such nostalgia for almost every New Zealand family.”

 

Perched right on the ocean, with a close view of tiny Matariki Island just offshore, this is also the place where Sue and Nigel come on special evenings. When there’s a lot to mull over, they may even smoke the occasional cigar.

 

“There’s nothing more beautiful than being up here, with the doors open and the intimacy of the sea right there. It’s a lovely place away from the house – like being on holiday,” says Sue.

 

One of the hardest-fought achievements in their time here has been the planting. When they first arrived, Sue started out with native saplings – cabbage trees, kowhai, olearias and coprosma – beside their pond.

 

With the cold, the salt and the intense weather, it’s hard to imagine a less hospitable nursery. But, over the years, with a few steps forward and a few back – and some dedicated helpers – the trees have formed a dense oasis. This summer, Sue’s son Josh built a whare ti, or tea house, out of recycled timber to provide a resting place for otherwise stoic gardeners.

 

Black Orpington hens recently joined the livestock – at the moment that’s five highland cattle and Louis, their toy poodle/Jack Russell cross.

 

The magic of the place draws visitors. And one of the best things about their extra space is that they can accommodate guests and family – often lots of them. Some of their most memorable times at Cosy Nook have been when it’s alive with kids, friends and grandchildren, converging to celebrate a special birthday or New Year’s Eve.

 

The words on one of Nigel’s paintings, hung above the dining table, encapsulate how they feel about home: “Good to be alive by the sea with long grass and blue summer skies and cows and cats. Feel like singing!”

 

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The bravest thing we did around the house was: To commit to living here. (Sue)

 

My renovation high point was: Converting the old barn into my first studio. (Nigel)

 

My favourite part of the house is: The Crown Lynn Room – so close to the sea. (Sue)

 

My favourite kitchen appliance is: The coffee machine. It always seems a luxury out here in the country. (Nigel)

 

The best money we ever spent was: On stoat traps. It’s such a joy to see the native birds return as we’ve culled the pests. (Sue)

 

Our worst day in this house was: The builders starting without notice, knocking down an external wall and smashing prized objects on the other side. (Nigel and Sue)

 

I love this part of New Zealand because: It’s a dramatic environment – big skies, fierce weather, open spaces and changing light. (Nigel)

 

My house is not usually tidy because of: Nigel. (Sue)