Mihi Mihi Retreat was conceived by gallerist Nadene Milne as the home for an Artist in Residence programme.

It is nestled in a hilltop neighbourhood in Arrowtown, intentionally turning away from big views and floods of light. Instead it lets select cuts of the surrounding hills quietly leak in and offers very much an interior, inward looking experience.

Intense southern light arrives inside much softer, having passed through close native planting and slatted cedar screens shrouding the little house. Raw concrete supports gentler materials such as blackened oak, linen and natural stone. Brass appears. Art work is heroed.

This project was very much a collaboration with the client, resulting in an artist’s residence sitting in conversation with a gallerist’s primary home.