Our client wanted a stylish home for their family to grow into that would engage seamlessly with their outdoor living space for entertaining friends and family with privacy. The home is situated on a large, gently rolling residential site.

Formerly orchard land, the property is sited in a new subdivision that seeks to retain a rural feel to the development. The site faces north to the street and has westerly views over the Kaimai Ranges.

Working with the tight height plane limits and restrictive covenants created challenges for designing a bespoke home.

The driveway sweeps up to the front door, which opens to a high ceiling entry space, giving peeks through to the outdoor living area, pool features, and a bedroom wing and open plan living wing that capture the sun. North-facing decks encourage outdoor living and provide access to the landscaped garden and swimming pool. The house is orientated north to enjoy maximum sunshine. This aspect directs the living and bedroom spaces away from looking at the neighbouring homes. Large windows frame the northwest view of the Kaimai Ranges.

The prevailing wind comes from the west, and the deck has glazed screens for shelter. A small home orchard and strategic tree planting support the country setting of the home.

Choices were made in the design to use a darker recessive colour palette to fit softly in the landscape and keep to traditional rural building forms of gable and pitched roof lines. And as a nod to rural buildings, sustainably harvested bandsawn weatherboards were selected for the cladding and presented in vertical form for a modern look.

The roof pitch and floor level were set to maximise the interior height available for a sense of space within and defined presence in the streetscape. The bedroom wing and living area wing are joined side by side to the interconnecting entry hall between bold gable end roof lines. Skylight windows in the roof provide natural light at the entry and to internal areas of the home, brightening the entry, hallway and living areas.

The living, dining and kitchen spaces open to the north facing covered deck that provide sunny and shaded spots for outdoor living. Dark stained cedar shiplap weatherboards and matt black panels line the exterior creating a sense of mystery. White tongue and grooved raking ceilings and beams create interesting forms within the light filled spaces and oak timber floors lighten and warm the interior to balance the dark tones of the exterior.

Setting the house well back from the street provides a good balance between open outdoor space and north facing sun to the living areas and covered decks.

The overhang of the pitched roof and the shading louvres over gable and deck areas control the north and west sun entering the main living spaces.

The house is heated throughout using a ducted heat pump air conditioning system and a fireplace provides a cosy family space. Minimal glazing to the southern side and a high degree of insulation protect against the cold. While a heat recovery ventilation system delivers fresh filtered air to all spaces.