65 At Home

A vision in nature’s landscape

Words: Amy Russ

Click Homes

High among the Bishopdale hills, nestled in alongside kanuka trees, overlooking the region and its western ranges lies the dream home of Jude and Dave Spencer.

Designed by Karsten Architectural Design, fine-tuned with the couple and completed by builder Chris Andrew and his experienced team, walking into the property it is easy to see why the couple fell in love with their section in the first place. Taking less than a year to build, the happy homeowners had enlisted the help of their good friend Chris to help see their dream project through. “We were lucky to find out about the property through word of mouth and when we first saw it, we immediately fell in love with the view. Our main requirement was for our home to take full advantage of that,” says Jude. Wandering into the sleek open plan kitchen and lush living room, your eye is immediately drawn to the spectacular wide landscape views. With a storm rolling in from the seas, the ‘infinity lawn’ and 2.7m high floor-to-ceiling glass frontage frame the ever-changing composition of nature’s work of art. The use of clean lines, earthy tones and natural materials throughout the interior sit comfortably within its private surroundings and make for a warm, efficient, and stylish home that makes you feel far away from the usual hubbub of suburban life, all within a five-minute drive from Nelson’s CBD.

Builder Chris Andrew says the design flows seamlessly. “The cedar and Stria cladding, Caesarstone benchtop, nice polished concrete floor, beautiful fittings, together with the privacy and elevation - it suits them just perfectly.”

“We absolutely love it here,” says Jude, “much of our time over the past year has been spent on landscaping.” They have planted more than 500 native trees on the property. “I love that the kanuka stand and gully are a part of the original bush, and we are hoping to extend that further.” “We’ve owned a number of homes around the Nelson region, but this is the first time we’ve built. We always thought we would build one day and got to a time in our lives when it became now or never. We had planned to downsize to allow more time and funds to travel but ended up with our one-hectare property. We both really enjoy gardening and working outdoors and with the world the way it is now, we’re more than happy to work away on our planting and landscaping.” Seeing their vision unfold was the biggest highlight for the couple and having the expertise and master craftsmanship of their trusted friend meant the experience of building their dream home was an easy one. Chris’s impeccable attention to detail and old-school style of building was a real draw card for Jude and Dave and they were more than happy to wait for him to be available to help see the project through.

THE CONCRETE CUTTER

“Chris is such a great friend, and we were so pleased he was able to build our house which is why we waited until he was available. It was a real partnership and he made everything easy for us. More than once his experience saved us from doing things that could have cost more than they needed to, or that we might have regretted.” Building homes since he was 19, Chris has been fine-tuning his craft for 47 years, always on site and ensuring his clients dreams come to fruition. He explains that only working on one house at a time and being able to focus all his energy on each build is the secret to a smooth and successful project. “I can personally project manage all of my jobs and am always on site. It creates much better communication with the owners, builders and the architects, ensuring everyone is on the same page.” For the last 12 years Chris’s focus has been building homes in Kaiteriteri. However, he is now ready to hang up his builder's hat on the big projects, and Jude and Dave's stunning Bishopdale home could well be described as his ‘swan-song’. Chris is looking forward to slowing things down a bit, travelling the countryside, spending time with family and taking on smaller jobs when the hammer calls.