The 700sqm megahome home features six bedrooms, six bathrooms and a pool.

MADDY HARKER

The Wanaka App will be regularly featuring a Wanaka property you might not have seen before. Big, small, new or old, we will aim to show you some of Wanaka’s wackiest and most wonderful homes.

It’s amazing what’s tucked away in hidden corners around Wanaka. This week’s featured property, Blackfriars, is one of size and grandeur.

A dramatic central atrium with a sweeping curved staircase leads to the second floor lounge.

The towering 700sqm home sits on 17 hectares of land located about five minutes drive out of Wanaka. Each of its six supersized bedrooms has its own ensuite, and it also features a library, multiple living spaces and a pool. An additional American style barn comfortably holds two cars, plus a sun-drenched artist’s studio upstairs. And, oh, there’s a vineyard too.

But it’s not Blackfriars’ sheer size that makes it so noteworthy, it’s the uniqueness of its design. You simply don’t see houses like this around these parts.

French doors lead to a tiled long exterior arcade, typical of the mission revival style.

Blackfriars’ mission revival style borrows heavily from the Spanish missions that are found along the California coast from San Diego de Alcalá to San Francisco Solano.

In 19th century California, where Spanish (and later Mexican) citizens felt pretty isolated from Mexico City, they developed their own identity as Californios, and the mission church was a symbol of their unique place and heritage in the world.

A large, open plan dining and living area with exposed beams feature a servery through to the kitchen.

Contemporary mission revival buildings are modeled after these mission churches, with generally unadorned stucco or adobe walls, the visible presence of wood beams, and a jutting portico or porch that resembles the entrance to a mission church compound.

The lavish Blackfriars features many of these elements. The home was originally built to be a luxury eco-resort in 2004. Perhaps the owners wanted to create something more cosmopolitan for international guests who would stay at the lodge.

Fancy an art studio? Well this property has one (and a library too).

There’s a kind of restrained elegance to Blackfriars, with its thick masonry walls with arches, enclosed courtyard, entry portal, tiled long exterior arcade and bell tower. Even with some fairly dated decor, it’s still a "wow” home.

And if mission revival isn’t your style, you’ve still got to appreciate the careful design that accentuates the property’s spectacular views at every opportunity.

PHOTOS: Prime Real Estate Wanaka