{"id":223111,"date":"2026-01-08T11:29:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T11:29:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/223111\/"},"modified":"2026-01-08T11:29:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T11:29:10","slug":"alex-watts-on-curating-ayrburns-bold-new-queenstown-dining-spaces-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/223111\/","title":{"rendered":"Alex Watts On Curating Ayrburn\u2019s Bold New Queenstown Dining Spaces"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"BEST<\/a><\/p>\n

This summer, Viva Premium is revisiting the best and biggest stories of the year. This article was originally published in October.<\/p>\n

Alex Watts knows that Billy\u2019s at Ayrburn won\u2019t be to everyone\u2019s taste. But she\u2019s okay with that.<\/p>\n

\n To anyone with an interest in art and design Alex Watts has
\n a dream job, spending someone else\u2019s money to ensure that Queenstown\u2019s Ayrburn is the visual wonder that developer Chris Meehan envisioned.\n <\/p>\n

Minds were blown as patrons started enjoying Ayrburn\u2019s different hospitality spaces<\/a> in December 2023 and the extravaganza continues with the opening earlier this year of Billy\u2019s in the restored 1800s homestead. It\u2019s completely over the top, in a good way, with a skilful combination of Victoriana, chinoiserie and modern-day design details that have you digesting the decor as much as the Cantonese food.<\/p>\n

\" Billy’s design combines Victoriana, chinoiserie and modern details.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not going to be to everyone\u2019s taste and that\u2019s okay. My home certainly doesn\u2019t look like this,\u201d Alex says as we take in layers of wallpapering, tiling, paint, drapery, light fixtures, furniture and walls covered in art.<\/p>\n

Alex smiles as we get to the art, fully aware of how enviable shopping for the 230-and- counting piece collection is. New Zealand artists McCahon, H\u014dtere and Goldie mix with those further afield (spot the Miro). There are also commissioned works by Natasha Wright (New York) and Alina Gozin\u2019a (Sydney). Billy\u2019s sunroom is adorned with an installation of beaten copper leaves by Alex\u2019s father. Glass lampshades have been custom-blown by Monmouth. Australia\u2019s Maryanne Moody has created beautifully textural wall hangings.<\/p>\n

\" Works include New Zealand icons McCahon, H\u014dtere and Goldie.<\/p>\n

\u201cCommissioning is an exciting process that I am fortunate to be involved in. You give a brief and hope for the best. It\u2019s a risk but we have always been pleasantly surprised. It\u2019s also exciting to see some of the newer artists take off and become more recognised.<\/p>\n

Alex says this confidence comes from the film industry. Her parents worked in Queenstown\u2019s art departments, so she grew up around it before studying a Bachelor of Fine Arts, majoring in design, and spending 10 years in film design and art direction herself. She loved it but it was not family friendly so when she had children (her eldest is 7) she gave it up.<\/p>\n

Enter Chris Meehan, via husband George Watts who works for Chris\u2019s Winton group, with an idea for Ayrburn that felt familiar.<\/p>\n

\" Some copper leaf installations were made by Alex\u2019s father.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a connection to film set work and we have used a lot of scenic artists from films to create the aged, authentic look of the newer buildings.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just as she used to source props, Alex now buys furniture and fittings to ensure each of the Ayrburn venues tells the right story. When it came to buying art, her confidence came from an art procurement and curation project she had previously completed for Flockhill Lodge.<\/p>\n

At Ayrburn, Alex works closely with architects, interior designers and George\u2019s landscape design team to create operational spaces that look great. They are all part of the bigger picture, then it\u2019s down to Alex to add the layers.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything tactile,\u201d she explains. \u201cIf you tipped the building upside down and shook it, I source all the stuff that would fall out \u2013 furniture, plates, cushions, signage \u2026\u201d.<\/p>\n

Constantly balancing design with practicality, Alex looks at how spaces will be used and their requirements.<\/p>\n

\" Billy\u2019s is housed in a restored 1800s homestead at Ayrburn, Queenstown.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe functional side of design is the fun part,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

And the same goes for budget \u2013 yes, she does have one.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I splurge here, I have to come up with a cheaper way to do something there. With endless money you could source everything from one expensive shop, but where is the fun in that? There\u2019s no challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alex laughs that a lot of the time she\u2019s a glorified mover \u2013 unpacking and moving furniture about is hard work and she must be organised to ensure arrival times meet opening dates.<\/p>\n

\" With 230 artworks and an over-the-top interior, Billy\u2019s is a feast for the eyes as much as the palate.<\/p>\n

\u201cI start buying things as soon as a project is locked in. I don\u2019t necessarily know where they will go, just that they will work for the space. Putting it all together, is fun and scary \u2013 you can\u2019t help but think \u2018what if it looks terrible\u2019? The joy of working in house (as the group creative lead) is that I am involved with a project from inception, when it\u2019s just doodles on a page, to sitting here enjoying a meal and watching others enjoy the spaces \u2013 it\u2019s a side I haven\u2019t experienced before. It\u2019s very satisfying.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spring fresh your home like a pro<\/p>\n

Alex Watts\u2019 top tips for giving your home a bold seasonal refresh:<\/p>\n

Seems obvious, but a good clean does freshen things up. I I love a Sunday morning rearranging an area or even just a shelf in my home. Moving things around can be as satisfying as getting new things.Source new vases or jugs from vitrine.co.nz or thesundaysociety.co.nz to bring spring growth indoors. Down south I fill mine with snowball viburnum and flowering dogwood to acknowledge the change of season.You could change things up with new paint colour or curtains, but cushions are less of a commitment. Swap them out seasonally for big impact that doesn\u2019t break the bank. littleandfox.co.nz and landhome.com.au are two favourites. Have confidence in what you pick and don\u2019t get too caught up with what matches \u2013 sometimes the beauty is in the contrast.Something. Anything! Is better than a blank wall. New Zealand has lots of affordable art options. Mix the high with the low. I source prints from well-known New Zealand artists from gowlangsfordgallery.co.nz, discover new artists at frameworkshop.co.nz and look out for good buys at artandobject.co.nz. Reframing existing artworks and photographs can also bring change. I use homesteadpictureframers.co.nz and elliotcreative.co.nz.<\/p>\n

More on interior design <\/p>\n

Curated spaces and the thinking behind them<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This summer, Viva Premium is revisiting the best and biggest stories of the year. This article was originally…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":60519,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[20306,1763,49773,3390,6326,32131,49772,22503,156,117,111,139,69,1570,90,105531,8780,3227,20930,124705,26699,6182,14625,1961,159,49771,379],"class_list":["post-223111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-alex","tag-article","tag-ayrburns","tag-best","tag-biggest","tag-bold","tag-curating","tag-dining","tag-entertainment","tag-new","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-october","tag-on","tag-originally","tag-premium","tag-published","tag-queenstown","tag-revisiting","tag-spaces","tag-stories","tag-summer","tag-this","tag-viva","tag-watts","tag-year"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=223111"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223111\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60519"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=223111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=223111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=223111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}