Palmstone

This project came with a clear brief — a West Harbour home rebuilt for entertaining, with a garden that felt like the Fijian resorts the homeowners love. The existing site gave us something to build on: a collection of mature palms that no amount of budget could have fast-tracked, and cycads that survived being cut back to stumps during the two-year build and came back without complaint.

Around that established structure, the planting was layered in — iresine for deep burgundy warmth at ground level, bromeliads for texture and colour beneath the canopy. Different materials define the outdoor zones: purple heart decking laid in thick 50mm planks for a wharf-like weight, Te Kuiti limestone paving, island stone on the driveway. A louvred roof, outdoor heaters, and a Flare fire that doubles as a pizza oven mean the space is used year-round rather than seasonally.

A garden built around real life for a family that knows how to enjoy it.