Colour and Light

We spoke to interior designer Stewart Harris about the inspiration behind this truly unique project.

Built in 1926 and situated on Titoki Street facing the Auckland Domain, Pearson House was originally created as a residence catering to the needs of blind men, helping to ensure the blind were a constant public presence in the city. Nearly one hundred years on, it has been fully revitalised as part of Generus Living’s Foundation development.

The $17 million Pearson House upgrade involved bringing the original colonnade back to life, seamlessly linking the Drawing Room and a Reading Room and establishing a café at ground level. Upstairs has been redesigned to house a luxurious boutique cinema, billiard room, lounge, an art studio, cardio studio and wellbeing suite. And at the centre of this transformation was the visionary eye of award-winning interior designer Stewart Harris, of Macintosh Harris. The choice of absolutely everything – from the room-by-room colour palettes to the furnishings and even the tableware – was overseen by Stewart, with the building’s Neo-Georgian design providing a faithfully followed template.

“I imagined how one would journey through the spaces, and how that should be an uplifting experience, with bursts of light and colour along the journey,” says Stewart. “The Georgians liked to use bright colours, so the spaces had to be very colourful, very joyful, something that is very uplifting as you move through it.

“And so, we have pinks, we have blue staircases, we have beautiful pale turquoise. The Georgians were very fond of pea green, so the reading room features a pea green palette, with green being very conducive to calmness and reading. Then we bounce it up a bit when you get into the drawing room and the reception room with the brighter turquoise, something that’s going to really lift your spirit when you go in there.”

Stewart even utilised colour and design as an impetus for activity within the building. “We dressed the staircases in a contemporary version of what you would have seen in a Neo-Georgian home. The palette is very striking here, as we want to encourage people to walk up the stairs if they’re able, rather than go in the lift. That’s the theory of course – you want to promote walking as an activity as much as possible when you live in this kind of environment,” he says.

Beyond the period-correct colours used throughout Pearson House, fixtures and furnishings also needed to reflect the building’s heritage while retaining a sense of modernity and first-class comfort for visitors. The solution called for a hybridised approach from Stewart, combining, for example, selected wallcoverings and artworks which link the old with the new, creating a collection of the contemporary and the traditional.

This approach extended to seeking out the best of the best from modern suppliers. “When I started on the project, I had always thought we would use Chippendale furniture, or furniture of the era. As I searched, here in New Zealand, it was difficult to find and so I was forced to look at other solutions, which is when I chanced upon a company that provides what I call ‘American proportioned’ furniture.

“One of the challenges of designing with later life living in mind is seat height and depth; these need to be comfortable and the proportions of the furniture we’ve opted for here is tailormade to the age group. Italian seating, for example, isn’t appropriate here as its generally way too low and too deep. But the American design range was perfect for Pearson House, from both a scale and style point-of-view.”

Naturally, in an environment such as Pearson House, careful curation of select antique items remains a large part of what Stewart does. But in every passion purchase, there also must be a degree of practicality.

“We managed to find beautiful antique pieces in order to mix with the modern furniture, and modern chandeliers designed in the style of the era. But yes, I want to vet every item of ornamentation, every piece of crystalware, every book in the reading room.

“I want to ensure the teaspoons we choose feature the right curve at the bottom of your hand so when you use it, it doesn’t dent your palm. I like, if I can, to be involved in all of that. There are obviously other people involved and other opinions and criteria as well, but we also need to be cognisant of flexibility, cleanability, and serviceability in everything we choose.”

With Pearson House being the heritage centrepiece of an otherwise modern, purpose-built retirement precinct, Stewart also had to weave a continual link between the contemporary new builds and the existing Neo-Georgian building. “Pearson House is an amazing place for socialising, with great food, maybe the odd glass of wine: somewhere joyful. So, that’s kind of what started the story of how we’ve linked all the buildings together,” he says.

“Knowing that there were going to be four major components in the project – and three would be purpose built modern buildings – I felt I should bring connection through art. I wanted something that wasn’t going to be too pivotal, but something that the residents would know, possibly, and would understand the stories behind them.”

Stewart decided upon De Gournay wallpaper murals as a centrepiece for each foyer in the Nathan Residences. In keeping with the colourful style of De Gournay, Stewart says walking into Pearson House is like walking “through” a De Gournay, linking the old and new.

Generus Living worked closely with Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga and Auckland Council during the restoration of Pearson House. The result is a sympathetically renovated building that is better than new. “A lot of what was actually in the building wasn’t at its best. For example, there were beams running through the major rooms that didn’t even have cornices, they just had 14 a little coving. Providing space in the ceilings for all the services meant we needed to drop the ceilings, but in doing so, this allowed us to add more suitable decorative corners.

“One of the biggest challenges was getting rid of the mismatching woodwork used throughout the building. The doors and floors weren’t in good condition. So, layering over the top of that with paint or new timber floors became essential. Everything that was done, heritage-wise, and in terms of introducing a new look and feel, has been sympathetic to what was there before. But it’s also contemporised it hugely.”

And Stewart’s favourite room? “I think it’s probably the reception room because it’s flanked by the library and the drawing room, but in its own right it’s probably the most classic of the rooms. But I know residents and guests will enjoy every space the building has to offer. It’s certainly the beginning of a new era for Pearson House.”