From sleep out to home office:

This old school building (built around 1920) was relocated to a Te Puke section and initially used as a sleep out.

These days the 14.5m2 building is used as a home based design office for MnM Design and has been altered to suite it’s new use. The building has been extended, reclad and insulated to go for another 100 years. Most of the original rimu structure has been re-used.

The walls and ceiling are now insulated and underfloor insulation was added. A custom made double glazed surface slider and window with aluminium joinery replace the old timber joinery.

Design features and creative solutions:

Rainwater is collected in an old wine barrel and new LED lighting has been added to the exterior.

An extension was made to the side of the building to provide room for a copier, archives and product documentation.

The office further contains 2 workspaces, a meeting place and storage. The new tables and shelves are designed to fit and are all home made.

A new deck connects the office to the existing house making it a real home office. The seats in front of the office give the office a nice informal ‘boardroom’.

This design office is not only a home office, it’s the business card for the buildings we design. It’s an original, a piece of art, not just a building. To prove art can be affordable, we choose a simple board and batten cladding with a twist. The interior reflects the old building, the existing sarking is just repainted and the rimu floor boards have been polished. The interior and exterior are like day and night. The interior is a light and spacious work environment and the exterior is like a dark skin that protects it.