Around the World, Lifestyle

The Seascape Retreat is an Exemplary Romantic Getaway

View all 12 Photos

The honeymoon is the quintessential period of romantic bliss; when star-crossed newlyweds wish to escape from the world for a week or two and lose themselves in each other’s eyes (or something like that). But in reality, many honeymoons are spent in noisy hotels on crowded beaches that charge you outrageously to rent chairs. The design team at the New Zealand-based firm Pattersons offers a bright alternative though, in the form of their secluded Seascape Retreat.

Set into a hill on a South Pacific cove of the Banks Peninsula, the small rental provides all a honeymooning couple needs in only three rooms.

Set into a hill on a South Pacific cove of the Banks Peninsula, the small rental provides all a honeymooning couple needs in only three rooms; a lobby, a bathroom and (most importantly) a bedroom. Built with local materials quarried near the site and featuring an earth-turfed roof, the retreat appears to lift up from the knoll like a sleepy giant opening its eye, with much of the space built into the hillside to further give one a sense of privacy. The home’s unique design is organized to provide you with views of both the bay as well as calm rocky spires, and features an interior appointed with a breathtaking array of furnishings, as well as a bustling fireplace whose geometry seems to mimic that of the enclosing structure. Despite its seclusion, the cottage maintains a level of self-reliance thanks to an integrate system for harvesting on-site water and treating wastewater, helping to limit any ties the house must have to the outside world. But most of all, the Seascape Retreat is a stunning little escape that offers couples what they want most; total solitude from everyone around them, with nothing but the lapping waters of the beach and your loved one to worry about.

More for you

Casa Lèvanzo


Architecture

A 1970s villa redesigned with modern interiors where natural light accentuates the qu...

Pyramid House


Architecture

A postmodern exhibition home designed in 1981, Pyramid House has been redesigned and ...

Medník House


Architecture

An extension perched on a rocky slope that opens to views of a garden, a river and th...

Casa Plan de Barrancas by PPAA...


Architecture

In western Mexico City, PPAA designs a private house organized around a garden, with ...

The Cerdeiras House Hotel


Architecture

The transformation of a rural complex dating back to the 18th century into a modern h...

Redlynch Farm


Architecture

Carefully restored, this 18th-century farmhouse boasts a contemporary extension that ...

Around the world

Kymaia, Playa El Puertecito


Around the World

A 22‑suite coastal retreat shaped by stepped, earthen volumes, palm shade, and slow p...

Mala Vila


Around the World

Designed with mirror walls, these four cabins perfectly reflect the surrounding woodl...

Kimpton Las Mercedes Hotel


Around the World

A Historic Landmark Reimagined: Kimpton Las Mercedes Brings New Life to Santo Domingo...

Staff Picks

Verdant House

Dandelight by Studio Drift

Clinique Monkland

Cabin Devín

Stay Updated

FacebookPinterestRedditLinkedInEmailWhatsAppX