Feature article
Alex and Corban Walls’ timeless Whananaki bach
Full of significance and ambitious design.
AI summary
Alex and Corban Walls have renovated their significant Whananaki bach, originally a relocated car showroom. A decade after its first update, the goal was a timeless, durable retreat with a "hotel by the coast" feel.
The new design features a sophisticated mid-century aesthetic with a focus on texture. Key materials include porcelain benchtops, hardened timber floors, and brick facings. Alex led the design, while Corban undertook the demanding six-month solo build, transforming the space into a refined family retreat.
Alex and Corban have given their 12-year-old bach a refresh from the ground up. Parky, a European hardened timber from Flooring Xtra, was the starting point for a textural material palette that stands up to family life at the beach, while also giving the interior a serious glow-up to reflect how the couple’s tastes have grown up.
Gathering around the table for meals is a big part of how Alex likes to host at the bach, so the couple updated their dining situation with a table that Corban made. The top is French oak from South Pacific Timber and the base is recycled cardboard cores painted in Dulux Frankton, with Città dining chairs. Behind, a chair from Vitrine, Hour Phila table lamp by Snelling Studio and artwork by Te Tai Tokerau artist Pauline Yearbury make a pleasing vignette against the Viblock brick-work.
Drawing on a mid-century aesthetic, Alex chose Viblock bricks for the wall linings. The Kawarau brick in Crawford is a defining backdrop to furnishings in rich earthy hues including an Hour Agathis floor lamp by Snelling Studio, 1977 sofa from King Living, a coffee table from the 1970s and Unplugged Checkers rug by Nodi.
Each of the six bedrooms was given its own colour story with paint from Dulux that played into Alex’s overall scheme where neutrals, rusty hues and green rule supreme. Bunks made by Corban also feature Dehei’s jersey cotton, with Città blankets, a lamp from Father Rabbit and stool from Soren Liv.
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