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Two Houses at Karori, Wellington

Architect: E. W. Gerson

page 71

These houses were designed for a hill-side slope in Wellington. The photographs show the upper house (in the plan) which was built for the architect's own occupation. The whole conception is extremely simple. The houses contrast well with the surrounding hills, and although they are entirely separate the effect from the road is of a simple mass. The interior is particularly worth looking at because of the apparently artless blending of handsome old furniture, inexpensive everyday furniture, and carefully designed and well-made contemporary furniture. In the dining end of the living room, for example, there is a fine Empire cupboard next to a set of quite ordinary ‘Windsor’ chairs. The late eighteenth century table in the sitting room is perfectly at home standing on Samoan matting near chairs covered in modern Swedish printed linen. The effect has of course been very carefully contrived, but the result is casual and charming.