Uncategorized - M C Fearnley Design

Luxury on the Ridge

Where contemporary comfort meets breathtaking scenery

Welcome to Luxury on the Ridge, a stunning modern home completed in 2024 that perfectly balances contemporary style with warmth and comfort.

Designed by M C Fearnley Design and built to perfection by Couga Construction, this home reflects a seamless collaboration between thoughtful architectural vision and exceptional craftsmanship. From the moment you step inside, you’re greeted by a beautifully considered interior that feels both sophisticated and inviting.

At the heart of the home is a spacious open-plan kitchen, dining, and living area, designed for effortless everyday living and easy entertaining. This central hub brings people together in a way that feels natural and relaxed, whether it’s quiet family time or hosting friends. Clean lines, warm finishes, and a carefully curated layout all contribute to a sense of understated luxury throughout.

Bathed in natural sunlight, the home enjoys an elevated position that captures sweeping mountain views, creating a constantly changing backdrop that enhances the living experience. Large windows frame the landscape beautifully, while strong indoor-outdoor flow ensures the home feels connected to its surroundings year-round. Every detail has been carefully considered to maximise comfort, functionality, and aesthetic appeal.

Couga Construction and Andrew’s team are known throughout Kaikōura, Marlborough, and North Canterbury for delivering high-quality architectural homes and renovations with honesty, care, and precision. Their reputation is built on strong relationships, clear communication, and a commitment to making the building process straightforward and enjoyable. By combining practical expertise with a passion for quality, they consistently deliver homes that are finished to an exceptional standard—on time and within budget.

The result is Luxury on the Ridge: a refined yet welcoming home that embodies modern living at its best, offering comfort, style, and a true sense of place in its stunning natural setting.

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Seaview Living

Where Architecture and Elegance Align

Welcome to the Seaview Living home, modern luxury meets masterfully executed!

Designed by M C Fearnley Design and brought to life by builder Peter Donne, this architecturally crafted home is a testament to precision, elegance, and high-performance living. Every detail—both seen and unseen—has been thoughtfully considered, resulting in a residence that is as refined as it is functional.

The bold, contemporary façade makes a striking first impression, setting the tone for the sophisticated interior beyond. Expansive glazing frames mountain views and floods the living spaces with natural light, while full-height stacking sliders open seamlessly to extensive Kwila decking, creating a continuous flow between indoors and out.

At the heart of the home, a custom-designed kitchen exemplifies modern luxury, featuring bespoke cabinetry, Caesarstone benchtops, and top-tier appliances. The same level of detail and cohesion carries throughout the home, from the carefully curated finishes to the integrated lighting and premium materials used at every turn.

This home combines street appeal, structural integrity, and enduring design thinking. With a focus on liveability, flow, and connection to place, it reflects M C Fearnley’s signature architectural style—balanced, grounded, and beautifully resolved.

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Esplanade Kaikoura

Serenity on the Esplanade

Welcome to the Esplanade home, where flawless meets the sea and every detail between is impeccable. An extremely proud project M C Fearnley Design have been involved in right to the very end, this seaside home epitomizes perfection.

This architectural masterpiece in Kaikoura boasts stunning mountain and ocean views that can be admired through the large floor to ceiling windows, bringing nature right into the home. The striking design features larch imprinted poured in-situ concrete walls, complemented by larch timber and Flashcald aluminum cladding. The interior is a blend of luxury and functionality, with a wine cellar for connoisseurs, polished concrete floors for a modern touch, and a larch batten ceiling adding warmth and character. The attention to design detail elevates the living, kitchen and dining to a level of sophistication befitting its breathtaking surroundings.

Esplanade is the epitome of beachfront luxury, ideal for those seeking a residential oasis that seamlessly integrates with its surroundings. The meticulous attention to detail is evident in every aspect of this design, from the high-quality materials used to the thoughtful layout that maximises natural light and views. Whether relaxing in the living admiring the views, indulging in a pinot from the wine cellar or enjoying the seamless flow between indoor and outdoor spaces, Esplanade offers a lifestyle of sophistication and comfort for the discerning homeowner.

Experience the best of coastal living nestled below the Kaikoura Mountain ranges with this exceptional residential design project, inspired by Chaplin Cooks concept and carried right through to consent by M C Fearnley Design. Built by Jack Dewhirst of Jackbuilt, and project managed by Mitch Fearnley of M C Fearnley design.

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Coming soon

Projects on the drawing board

Coastal Living

Mangamaunu Kaikoura surfer’s dream

M C Fearnley design recently completed this incredible local project, nestled below the Kaikoura Mountain ranges and alongside the internationally acclaimed Mangamaunu surf break, this coastal living home boasts for an incredible lifestyle.

A combination of colorsteel & larch cladding, with a mono pitch roof making for a stylish and contemporary aesthetic. The large-scale glass windows allowing you to take full advantage of the surrounding views, while capturing natural lighting all day long. An open plan kitchen, dining and living flows out onto a covered outdoor area, inviting you to sit back around the outdoor fire and embrace the sounds of nature around you as the sun sets.

Polished concrete flooring with underfloor heating and high ceilings clad with natural timber reflects the predominantly alpine character of the area forming a cohesive and complementary design between the home and the surrounding environment.

A touch of rustic vintage style incorporated amongst high quality finishes ensures functionality while paying homage to the unique environment surrounding this property.

We believe every home should be as unique as you, and that is why we are thrilled to share this one-of-a-kind project with you. Allow us to create the perfect space for you in your own piece of paradise, coastal living home is a great example of M C Fearnley designs ability to create perfection.

Coastal living Kaikoura

Alpine Living – Queenstown

Luxury home Kelvin Heights

Nestled amongst the schist rock hillside, this home is intended to sit naturally within the context of the dramatic surrounding alpine landscape. Designed by M C Fearnley Design, Alpine living Queenstown is a bold structure creating a striking presence, connecting the use of natural sustainable materials, with the environment. Positioned and shaped to capture and frame the stunning views of Lake Wakatipu from the Kelvin Heights Peninsula – this modern home has been expertly crafted around the schist and stone environment that naturally surrounds the property, offering the perfect blend of alpine comfort and style.

Inside, the aesthetic is softened with the use of cedar timber wall claddings, softly polished concrete floors, and clever furnishings. The polished concrete floors combined with flawless ceiling to floor natural timber wall cladding through the kitchen & dining area create the illusion of a complete area, disguising the hallway entry door for a seamless looking kitchen area. The natural surrounding environment is drawn from the outside in through the design, creating design consistency. Natural building materials and earthy, recessive colours and the continued use of the natural timber cladding links the interior to the exterior features – reinforcing the connection to the environment.

An important feature of this home is the modern construction and technology, it has been designed and built to meet passive house standards including a Steibel Eltron ventilation system for constant fresh healthy air. Above-code insulation, a thermally broken slab, and triple-glazed windows help keep electricity bills to a minimum all year round. For those cloudy winter days, there is an efficient heat pump underfloor heating system.

High end fixtures and finishings have been carried throughout, and low maintenance easy care exterior provides for exceptional living all year round.

This home is the product of the openness of the owners resulting in a close working relationship between client and designer. M C Fearnley Design invites you to take advantage of our experience and create your perfect home.

Kelvin Heights

At a Glance

Snippets of MCF Design projects

MCF Design Fearnley house

Trussed Living

Creative exposed Truss living space

This spacious and creatively designed family home encompasses multiple aspects of creative thought throughout.

The exposed trusses, designed by Mitch – are reciprocated throughout the living and entertaining spaces of the home. The precise nature of the eye-catching traditional oak pegged mortise and tenon macrocarpa trusses required specialised testing at Canterbury University to apply to New Zealand conditions. This construction far exceeding expectations proves how durable and widely used this traditional building technique could be.
While the dedicated timber elements and materials draw the eye throughout the space, the nature and warmth of these elements and textures remain the most vital feature.
Clever use of LED and Pendant lighting creatively emphasises each space, allowing the main areas to remain warm and inviting despite their expanse.

MCF Design Fearnley house

Hill Top Home

Traditional farm style dwelling

Carefully designed to encompass the surrounding landscape into everyday living – located on the hilltop here in Kaikoura, this house is designed to make the most of the southern views this location boasts while allowing natural light to be creatively captured within the space.

The traditional farm style dwelling consists of a simple “H” shaped layout in which three gable formed pavilions coexists to create the asymmetrical structure connected to a fourth garage pavilion by way of a flat roof.

The wrap-around nature of this home captures the 360° views while also creating relatively independent spaces.

MCF Design Fearnley house

Hapuku Home

Simple and elegant country living

A simple but elegant home, this house sits impeccably against the mountainous landscape of the Southern Alps. Designed with four pavilion-style pods connected with multiple covered areas and adjoining outdoor spaces that protect from prevailing winds yet still offering breath-taking views from within.

This house was designed to meet the needs of a growing young family, offering multiple spaces to spread out and offer privacy.

The interior in the main living space compiles predominately of natural metals. steel, natural timber & in-situ concrete walls. The large pavilion-style roof offers floor to ceiling glazing with uninterrupted views and all-day sun.

The house incorporates a limited palette of natural vertical cedar, black tray roofing and walls & polished concrete floors which offer a seamless and natural look blending into the environment.

Designed for sophisticated entertaining, combined with easy everyday living – all areas of the home flow freely to the outdoor living, perfect for taking advantage of the views in the evening sun, all while providing a haven for a busy and active family.

MCF Design Fearnley house