KEY POINTS:
It's hard to believe it's been less than three years since Sarah Martin and her husband John Shawyer arrived in New Zealand with just a few boxes of personal effects.
Their Queenstown home is so richly layered with carefully chosen items of furniture and accessories that it feels like it's been a lot longer in the making.
"Our first Christmas here we had no sofa and ended up sitting on beanbags," says Martin. By combining mementoes from their past with new pieces accumulated along the way, the couple has amassed an eclectic collection of possessions ranging from a forest of colourful modern glassware to a pair of antique wooden skis and an old shipping trunk that's been given new life as a coffee table.
"There's no one theme," she says. "It can be vintage or new, but if it affects me I want to have it." The result is warm, sumptuous and highly personal, perfect for the chill Queenstown climate.
"I'm enamoured at the moment with the idea of layers," says Martin, who has her own textile design company.
"Layers of accessories and soft furnishings - it's so rich and indulgent. That kind of look doesn't happen overnight, you need to build things up bit by bit."
She believes a home's personality is shaped by the things that capture the owners' imagination, and loves to see people use her textiles in new ways. "I like to think it's the way people use or display my products that determines how my designs are interpreted or appreciated. One of my cushions or lampshades can look completely different in a modern setting as compared to a more traditional context. Yet they can be simply gorgeous in both."
In their own home, she has combined textures such as leather and fur or stone and wood in a wide palette of mostly natural hues, set off by striking glimpses of colour. "We both like so many different styles, from the cosiness of an alpine lodge, the luxury and decadence of art deco, to the exotic opulence of global fusion. I guess that this is what creates the eclectic look - it's a true blend of all of our life treasures."
Martin and Shawyer, a self-employed trader and business owner, were living in Australia when they bought the house, but they had enjoyed so many winter holidays in Queenstown that eventually they decided to up sticks and move to the fashionable South Island tourist town.
"Queenstown was the place where we came to relax and refresh," Martin says. "I think the universe conspired to get us living here. The house was brand new, so we didn't need to make any structural changes. More than anything it just needed some soul, some happy lives to fill it for a while. We also wanted to take off the 'modern edge' to warm it up a bit. It's lucky we don't have a bent for the modernist look as all of our bits and pieces just wouldn't work in a wildly minimal or contemporary space."
COLOUR UP
The dark side: Don't be afraid to paint the walls a bold, moody colour.
Simply red: Martin has always loved using splashes of red in her interiors, but she keeps it fresh by pairing it with a variety of hues. Red and turquoise are current favourites.
Create contrast: Martin has artfully arranged her collection of quirky long-stemmed glassware on top of one of the kitchen cabinets, where the vibrant colours have even more impact contrasted against a sombre feature wall.
* Leanne Moore is the editor of Your Home & Garden. For more on this home, see the issue on sale now, or visit www.yourhomeandgarden.co.nz>.
