How Amesbury Helped Create a Warm Space at Te Tapui Marae
Updated: Aug 27
Some flooring choices are measured in colour, texture and wear. Others carry a deeper responsibility. At Te Tapui Marae in Northland, the flooring selected for the wharenui needed to support a place where whānau return home, gather across generations, share kōrero, sing waiata, rest, remember and reconnect.
This was not a project about choosing a surface in isolation. It was about finding a material that could sit respectfully within a meaningful space, complement the craftsmanship already present, and help people feel comfortable from the moment they entered.
Working alongside Leonie from Thandi Jazmine Design, in collaboration with Ngāti Kura, the ahi kā and whānau, the Amesbury carpet for the wharenui was selected. The result is warm, quiet and welcoming, with the carpet gently pulling the elements of the room together without drawing attention away from the purpose of the space.
A long working relationship built on trust
The collaboration at Te Tapui Marae was shaped by a relationship that had already grown over many years.
“I’ve been working alongside my daughter Thandi from ThandiJazmineDesign for many years on projects throughout Taranaki, Auckland and Te Tai Tokerau,” Leonie shared.
The design focused on translating the brief into a clear and cohesive interior identity, with each decision considered as part of the wider vision for the wharenui. Working alongside Ngāti Kura, the ahi kā and whānau, the team considered colour, tone, texture, comfort and sound to ensure the flooring felt right for the space and supported the many ways the wharenui would be used.
It also meant understanding that the floor would carry daily life, formal occasions, quiet moments, large gatherings and long hours spent together.
Why flooring matters so much in a wharenui
The marae is a place of return. It is where whānau come home for celebrations, tangihanga, hui, wānanga, working bees, shared meals and everyday connection. People sit, stand, walk, rest and sleep in these spaces. Tamariki move through them. Kaumātua spend time there. Whānau may gather for many hours, often across days.
That makes comfort a central part of the brief.
The floor is one of the most physically felt elements in the room. It affects how warm the space feels underfoot, how inviting it feels when people sit together, and how restful it feels during long gatherings. It also shapes the way sound moves through the space.
A hard surface can lift noise and make conversations feel sharper. A softer surface can help absorb sound, reduce echo and create a more settled feeling. In a wharenui, where kōrero, waiata and shared stories carry importance, that matters.
The right flooring supports the way people gather. It helps create the conditions for people to listen, speak, sing, rest and feel at home.
The brief was warmth, comfort and identity.
The wharenui needed flooring that would create a warm and a welcoming environment. It needed to be soft and comfortable, especially for the many hours people spend together inside the space. It also needed to sit quietly within the room, rather than dominate it.
A flooring product may be durable but cold in feeling. It may be soft but visually too busy. It may look right in a sample but feel wrong once placed beside timber, tukutuku, carvings, colour and light.
For Te Tapui Marae, the selected carpet needed to bring the whole space together while respecting what was already there.
Amesbury carpet achieved that by offering a soft, grounded finish with a quiet visual presence. It helped connect the different elements of the wharenui, creating a sense of unity without taking focus.
The carpet’s tone and texture gave the room warmth. Its softness supported comfort. Its acoustic qualities helped create a calmer environment, one where kōrero, waiata and shared stories could be heard and treasured.
This is where the choice of flooring became more than a practical decision. It supported manaakitanga, the care and welcome extended to people who enter the space.
A short interview with Thandi from Thandi Jazmine Design
To understand the thinking behind the selection, we asked Thandi from Thandi Jazmine Design to reflect on the project and the role flooring played in the finished wharenui.
What guided the design approach for the wharenui?
The approach began with respect for the marae, the ahi kā, Ngāti Kura and the whānau connected to the space. The wharenui already held its own kōrero and craftsmanship, so the design work needed to support that rather than overpower it.
The flooring became one part of a much wider design conversation. It needed to complement the interior, but also serve the people who would use the space in real and everyday ways.
That meant thinking about warmth, softness, durability, acoustics and the overall feeling when people walked in. The goal was for the flooring to feel settled, welcoming and appropriate.
Why was comfort such a key part of the flooring decision?
A marae is not a space people simply pass through. It is a place where whānau gather for long periods of time. People may sit together for hui, listen to kōrero, support one another, sing, sleep and reconnect across generations.
Because of that, the floor has to support the body as well as the room. Softness matters. Warmth matters. A welcoming feeling matters.
The carpet helped create an environment where people could feel comfortable spending time together. It softened the room and supported the way the wharenui would be used, not just how it would look.
What role did acoustics play?
Sound is a big part of how a wharenui feels. Kōrero, waiata and shared stories need to be heard clearly. If a space is too hard or echoing, it can make listening more difficult and make the room feel less settled.
The acoustic qualities of the carpet helped soften the sound within the wharenui. That supported a more comfortable environment for hearing, speaking and singing together.
It is a practical benefit, but it also has emotional weight. A calmer sound environment helps people feel more connected to what is being shared.
A floor that supports kōrero and connection
One of the strongest parts of the Te Tapui Marae project is the way the flooring works quietly in the background.
Some design choices announce themselves immediately but this supports the feeling of the room. It softens the experience of being inside. It creates warmth underfoot and helps the space feel settled.
In a wharenui, that quiet support is valuable.
The carpet helps people gather more comfortably. It helps soften sound. It helps create a sense of welcome. It also helps unify the interior, giving the craftsmanship, kōrero and use of the space room to breathe.
The choice shows how important it is to think about flooring early and carefully, especially in spaces with cultural, communal and intergenerational meaning.
Good flooring in a marae setting should answer practical questions:
Will it feel warm and comfortable for long periods?
Will it support the way whānau sit, stand, rest and gather?
Will it help manage sound in the room?
Will it complement the existing features?
Will it feel respectful, settled and enduring?
At Te Tapui Marae, the answer needed to be yes across all of these points.
The value of collaboration with whānau and ahi kā
A project like this cannot be shaped by design preference alone. The collaboration with Ngāti Kura, the ahi kā and whānau was central to the outcome.
The people connected to the marae understand the life of the space. They know how it is used, what it carries, and what it needs to feel like. Their insight helps guide decisions that may seem small on paper but have a lasting effect in practice.
The design process respected that knowledge.
Working alongside Thandi, the team could consider the flooring from both a design and lived-use perspective. The result was not simply a product selection. It was a shared decision shaped by the purpose of the wharenui and the people who return to it.
That kind of collaboration takes time, but it leads to better outcomes. It helps ensure the finished space feels coherent, useful and deeply connected to its people.
More than a finish underfoot
The flooring at Tapui Marae shows how a material choice can carry meaning without needing to be the centre of attention.
Amesbury carpet helped create warmth. It added softness. It supported acoustics. It brought the interior together in a calm and respectful way. Most of all, it helped support the purpose of the wharenui as a place where people feel welcomed, connected and at home.
The flooring was never simply about the finish. It was about helping create a space where people feel welcomed, connected and at home.
That idea stayed at the heart of the project. The wharenui is a place of return, and every part of it should support that feeling.
A warm welcome that can be felt
The completed flooring at Tapui Marae does what good interior design should do in a meaningful place. It serves the people first.
It gives softness for long gatherings. It brings warmth to the room. It helps kōrero and waiata carry with care. It sits respectfully alongside the craftsmanship already held within the wharenui.
Most importantly, it supports the feeling of coming home.
That is the real success of the project. Not a floor that asks to be noticed, but one that helps people settle in, reconnect and feel the welcome of the marae beneath their feet.
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