Considered design
Boutique interior architecture studio Eterno Design draws on two decades of experience to create a series of stunning spaces that exemplify effortless modern life.
This architecturally designed home provided the perfect starting point for Christchurch interior architect Emma Morris of Eterno Design. Fusing her keen eye for detail with her clients’ unique style, Emma has created a series of award-winning interior spaces that the inhabitants will enjoy for years to come.
Emma’s brief was succinct: to create highly functional spaces, with an effortless ‘flow’ between the kitchen, scullery and preparation areas, and between the indoor and outdoor dining and entertaining areas. Emma says the interior palette was carefully chosen to ‘enhance the strong architectural forms and the interplay of natural light that shines through the varying ceiling heights’.
Bespoke joinery components were designed to maximise storage and create a cohesive feel throughout the home. Working in close collaboration with Emma, Mark Allworthy of Bates Joinery manufactured all of Emma’s designs, which can be found in just about every room. From the custom-made kitchen cabinetry, to the wall-hung bathroom vanities, to the sleek entertainment unit in the media room, all joinery was made using quarter-cut American White Oak that was either painted or stained black.
A ‘welcoming haven’ where family and friends can come together, the ‘intimate snug’ Emma created in the media room offers a compelling colour palette of inky blues, complemented by plush, velvety textures. The stunning piece of bespoke cabinetry that envelops the gas fireplace and wall-mounted television was a joint effort and real labour of love.
Ensuring optimal practicality as well as beauty, the designer and joiner worked tirelessly to achieve the ideal marriage between form and function. In order to meet Emma’s exacting standards, as part of the creative process the pair developed a prototype in the factory, which was then tweaked ‘to perfection’.
The heart of the home, the kitchen was designed to be a highly functional space that also connects seamlessly with the outdoor entertaining area beyond. Quietly elegant, the island is wrapped in stained oak panels that have been designed to form a drop down dining table.
As with all aspects of this home’s interior, Emma has chosen all fixtures and fittings to imbue each space with a ‘sense of style and simplicity’. Emma explains that the pared-back appearance she strives for in all her designs belies the complexity of the design itself.
The bespoke mirrored cupboards in the master en suite, for example, were designed to incorporate storage underneath the marble benchtop. ‘All in all, it is a spatial sanctuary where the inhabitants can completely relax and unwind’, Emma reflects.
‘I love creating functional spaces with clean lines and minimal fuss. To me, paying close attention to the smallest of details is where the real beauty lies.’
The master en suite features large format Casa Dolce Casa Stone Calacatta marble-effect tiles. Selected for their refined elegance and water-resistant properties, BellaRoc also supplied the exquisite Mutina Azulej patterned tiles designed by celebrated Italian furniture designer, Patricia Urquiola, which were used to create the feature wall in the bathrooms, as well as in the kitchen and scullery.
Winning the prestigious Tida New Zealand Designer New Home of the Year Award and the NKBA Kitchen Distinction Award in 2017, Emma says it was ‘an incredibly rewarding moment’. However, she says that while awards provide recognition within the industry, ‘at the end of the day what holds the most weight are our happy clients.’
Words: Majka Kaiser Photography: Stephen Goodenough
