Slow burn

EVEN THOUGH CANTABRIANS Helen Lowe and Mark Bleeker had been planning their new home in their heads and on paper for 10-15 years, when it came to the crunch, they knew they could do with some help. “There’s a difference between a dream house and a real house,” says Mark. “It’s the difference between what you want and what you actually need.”

Meeting Aaron Mackay, their local David Reid Homes franchisee, was a turning point. Straight talking, he cut to the chase, trimmed out the fairytale details – the mad ideas that pushed the budget beyond breaking point –and focused on practical solutions with aesthetic impact. Once the design was put down on paper and pegged out on the ground, the owners knew immediately that this was their blueprint. F

The land - 1.2 hectares with a renovated cottage on it - had a steep drop-off, which Helen and Mark planned to put to good use. “We could see it would be nice to build on the edge of the bank and look out over the garden,” says Helen.

A vertiginous bank does not a relaxing garden make, however, so the pair came up with a cunning plan to craft a sheltered courtyard in the wide V formed by two angled pavilions. Barn-like in appearance, one building comprises the living spaces, the other the bedroom zones and laundry. Linked by a gallery, they offer 380 square metres to play in, cousins in form but each with unique features.

While the bedroom building sports a plaster coat, the living pavilion is cloaked in weathered steel, a product that Mark, an engineer, was drawn to several years ago. “The new Waitaki Bridge which opened in 2014 used Corten beams,” he recalls. After some research, the couple unearthed a local company which imported rolls of the steel from South Korea and had the ability to form it. “Underneath the eaves, it is still silver; you can see it gradually weathering.”

With a roof that is 6.4 metres at its apex, inserting a mezzanine level made good sense but also brought some dynamism to the volume. “It allowed the kitchen beneath it to feel more intimate,” says Helen, who can retreat upstairs to her office desk. At the far end of the pavilion, it’s a similar story: a ‘loft’ with a low ceiling is a quiet spot for reading. “I call it Helen’s time-out room,” jokes Mark.

The kitchen, tucked beneath exposed rafters between steel support beams, is like a container within the open-plan space. Here, Mark had firm ideas that stemmed from childhood. “I grew up in a messy household so became vehemently anti-clutter. I wanted symmetrical, clean lines – and nothing on the bench.” F

What they couldn’t decide on was the colour of the oak veneer cabinetry, so on ‘burger Friday’, a regular event hosted for tradies on the job, they took a vote. The mid-tone brown they landed on is a little lighter than Mark initially wanted – but it ties together the almostblack bench and the light-toned oak floors.

This flooring timber, locally sourced, is made from English oak logs more than 100 years old which Mark spotted on his travels and secured through a miller friend. It’s just one part of a tapestry of materials, colours and furniture that transform this voluminous house into a characterful home. It might be new, but it already feels well loved.

Ceilings lined in pre-finished UV-coated plywood are another distinctive feature. The precision of the negative detail between the panels is something that would warm the soul of any engineer. “It took five guys a week to do it and it is perfect,” he says. Green walls are soothing and reflect the parklike grounds while concrete floors run straight up to oak skirting boards that wrap up the walls.

Because the couple was in planning mode for so many years prior to signing up with David Reid Homes, they already had a container-load of treasures saved up for the day when they could turn the key in their brand-new home. “We had collected a lot of art over the years, but never had the wall space to be able to hang it all at once,” says Helen.

That’s all changed here, where a treasured diptych by Ewan McDougall gives visitors a bright-purple welcome in the entry gallery, sculptural objects are displayed in built-in shelving near the kitchen and even bottles from their red-wine stash line up in an artful way in the scullery.

Here is a pair who have thought of everything and simply needed the guidance of a committed team to get them to the finish line. Both Aaron and project manager F

Brendan Montaperto were suitably pedantic about the workmanship. “We’re both quite handy but they wouldn’t even let us screw down the deck,” remarks Helen. “Although we did help to varnish the skirting boards.” Despite not being able to be as hands-on as they would have liked, they look back at the 12-month build with real fondness. “It was such a positive, happy vibe,” says Mark.

About seven years ago, the couple commissioned a work in forged and welded Corten steel from Arrowtown-based sculptor Mark Hill. For several years, the great, sinuous piece sat tied to a birch tree awaiting its time to shine. Now, it commands prime position on the lawn, framed in the hug of the living pavilion, backdropped by the Hunter Hills. Anyone would think it was planned this way but no, say the owners, this perfect pairing of weathered-steel cladding and art is just coincidence. That and a bit of fortuitous foresight. F

Clued up on colour

A judicious use of colour can bring out the best in design elements. Here’s how: on’t fall into the trap so many New Zealanders do – any shade, as long as it’s white. If you like a colour, use it. In the scheme of things, paint is not a huge investment. You can always paint over it for resale. f you want colour but lack the confidence to plunge in, consult an expert. Helen and Mark asked a local interior designer for help. She suggested they go a bit darker with the green they had chosen for the living room. arying tones of the same colour give the house a cohesive look. For instance, in the living room the walls are Resene Mangrove while the loft is Resene Paddock - both shades of olive-y green. olour can be used unexpectedly. Whitewashed ceiling panels in the living pavilion are one example of this. But also, in the main bedroom, the negative detailing on a feature wall of ply panels is finished in pink to tie into the pale pink walls elsewhere in the room.