New Zealand Goes Modern: 7 Fantastic Houses

In the kitchen, the showstopping ceiling’s herringbone pattern is echoed by the terra-cotta tiles on the floor. Architect Michael O’Sullivan, who designed the steel-and-glass kitchen cabinets, the table, and the pendant lights (made by Lava Glass), further amped up the richness of the room by specifying an onyx kitchen island. Interior designer Yvette Jay, a collaborator and classmate of O’Sullivan, kept her material palette “tight and limited. I had to restrict myself so that everything here ties in with the architecture.”

The exterior of the Popadich residence is modeled after boat storage sheds, while the interior is outfitted with industrial concrete and ply.

The concrete wall mimics the slope of the hill outside as a reference to early Maori structures that were dug into the land. The simple kitchen has strandboard cabinetry and an MDF island that conceals a fireplace at one end. The ceramic works on the built-in seat at right are by Raewyn Atkinson and Robyn Lewis.

In the suburb on the mountain’s lower slopes, Michael O’Sullivan and his sons Seamus and Finbar exchange motorcycle tips outside the compact, innovative home O’Sullivan designed.

The sunny side of the home is clad in cedar weatherboards and features sleeping quarters on the upper level with living spaces below.

The outdoor room is backed by a gabion wall made of stone. Rainwater runs off the roofs into a channel before being funneled through pipes concealed within it to an underground concrete tank.