Wither Hills Design Project

Over the years we have been involved in a number of exterior design projects for various homes, hotels and events. 

Our last project involved designing and delivering a stand for Wither Hills – the famously good Marlborough vineyard – for the Marlborough Wine Festival.

We have had a long and fruitful relationship with Wither Hills:  The Marine Bean outdoor beanbag is a popular feature of their ‘cellar door’ wine tastings, and we drink a lot of their wine…

Consequently, when we were asked to collaborate on a stand that would bring the relaxed atmosphere of the vineyard to the Marlborough Wine Festival, we leapt at the opportunity.

Having reviewed the the site plan and spoken to the good folks at Wither Hills about their wishes and requirements, we submitted a proposal for an ‘outdoor room’ that was intended to be civilised but unpretentious.  In previous years, most vineyards exhibiting at the festival have established ‘booths’ with counters across the front of the tent, which have effectively created a barrier between the vineyard and the wine-tasting public and thereby discouraged interaction.

Our plan, in contrast, was to create an area where visitors might sit for a while and relax, much as they would at the Wither Hills winery.  We opted not to include too many of our larger beanbags, because we did not necessarily wish to encourage visitors to linger for too long…

In order to avoid a claustrophobic feel in the 6m x 6m tent, we opted to remove the back wall of the tent and to frame the view of the vineyard beyond.   By extending the ‘outdoor room’  beyond the confines of the tent (using a simple awning at the back and parasols at the front) we hoped to create an airy and relaxed feel – while providing some welcome shade and a connection with the vineyard.  

Ideally I hoped to include a simple, elegant water feature (such as a large bubbling urn) to draw the eye into the vineyard, and to create a sense of cool and calm on what can be a very hot day.  This last would always be subject to budget considerations (and overcoming some ingrained prejudices against water features, of which more later…)

We endeavoured to keep costs as low as possible by using existing materials where possible.  Those items that needed to be custom made would be of robust but simple construction, allowing them to be redeployed after the event.

Wither Hills Concept

The concept having been approved by Wither Hills and the Wine Festival management, we set to work on a site plan (below), commisioning the various components (those that we did not already have in stock) and finalising a colour scheme.

Wither Hills Site Plan

When it comes to colour, we generally rely on long-term collaborator and freind, Emma Kate Bamford (of Emma Kate Bamford Design).  Emma Kate favours neutral tones and acts as an effective handbrake to more ambitious (she would say ‘garish’) flights of fancy.

The wooden decks came from Verda New Zealand (and had been used in earlier projects), the ottomans and throw cushions were from Coast New Zealand, the Tradewinds parasols came from our own concept store The Outdoor Room and the furniture and bars were custom made in Blenheim by local craftsman, Regan Stocker, from plans that we emailed to him.  The Sunbrella wall coverings and awning came from the Coast New Zealand workshop. 

Flowers were supplied by the excellent Pink Poppie florists in Blenheim and the contemporary hanging baskets were from Pollen (also available from The Outdoor Room).

 

Amazingly, everything was delivered to the site on time and the tent was almost complete before lunchtime on Friday.  Thereafter I was left to put together my beloved water-feature and to do some ‘jujing’.

 

I will allow that the vast majority of water features are irretrievably naff.  However, the water feature has a long and respectible predigree  that stretches back to the gardens of Persia and latterly of Moorish Spain (the gardens of the Alhambra in Grenada being perhpas the most famous example).  Not only does flowing water physically cool the air (through the process of evaporative cooling), but it has a profound calming and cooling effect on the mind.

 

I had checked out some shop-bought options on the previous day but was unconvinced.  In the end, I bought a big Etruscan urn and a water pump from the garden centre, borrowed a half-barrel from the vineyard and purloined some river stones from the Wairu River.  I was pretty happy with the result and various cynics (you know who you are) were ultimately won over.

 

So here is how she turned out, from concept to execution:

Wither Hills Concept

Wither Hills Site Plan

…yes we did move that white truck

After everybody’s hard work it was time to enjoy some excellent Marlborough wine. 

Gratifyingly, our efforts were rewarded with a ‘Best Stand’ award, which, as previously noted, will be going straight to the pool room.

Incidentally, we will running a series on the principles of exterior design on this blog in the very near future, in which we will talk about, inter alia, water and shade…