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Wharawhara Road Home

 
This is a really neat country home. The views from the site, and the owners requirements made designing this home fun. The site is on top of a hill with views to the ocean and surrounding farmland.

The challenge was to design the home to capture all the views while creating sheltered areas from the wind due to its exposure. The home has been designed to suit a family with teenages so quiet areas were a must.

The open plan Dining, Kitchen and Family area opens into an Atrium to capture the morning sun while looking out to the ocean and Mayor Island. The Master bedroom with Ensuite is located over the kitchen area and has cedar shutters which allows an open plan feel with the Family area but also gives a view to Mayor Island through skylights in a raking ceiling over the Family/Dining area.

The layout allows this amazing view to be captured from all the main areas including the separate Lounge. The Lounge opens onto a patio with timber shutters built into pillars. These shutters can be closed to give shelter from the wind when required.The three other bedrooms are situated away from the Master Bedroom making this a quiet area. The main entry has been designed as an atrium that feeds the suns warmth into the passageway to the ground floor area.

The open feel of the glass roof and walls gives the Entry a real outside feel making the transition from the Entry pathway to the living area an easy enjoyable journey. The materials used in this design give the home its classic look. The plaster finish and timber shutters make it look at home on the hill. For an exposed site, the home certainly makes the most of the sun and the view while providing sheltered outside areas.

What makes this home special is that the clients were so happy with the design, they requested us to design their next three homes.

 

Harvey Street Home

 

This is a really neat family home. The site and the owners requirements made designing this home a really enjoyable challenge.

The site is the rear half of a city section sloping approximately three and a half metres to the east. The home has been designed with an extra high stud in the Garage to allow the open plan Lounge, Dining and Kitchen to capture an amazing view of the sunrising over a tidal estuary.

The master bedroom with full ensuite including double spa bath, walk-in tiled shower and hidden toilet is just off the living area on the top storey. The layout allows this amazing view to be captured from all the main areas. Even the office has a nice view in a warm part of the home.

The second bedroom acts as a guest room with room for a double bed and access to a semi-ensuite. The third bedroom is roomy enough for two single beds or a double if required. The ground floor also has extra rooms such as a dark room for photography, separate laundry and a workshop/hobby room at the end of the double garage. The main entry is raised to give a dominate appearance with double cedar doors opening into a five and a half metre high void with wide feature stairs leading to the living area.

The materials used in this design makes the exterior of the home almost completely maintenace free, just a good clean is pretty much all it needs with minimal painting required. For a small site this home certainly makes the most of it. Watching the reflection of the sunrise on the water change colours while enjoying breakfast makes the challenge all worth while.

Other Completed Homes

Here is a small selection of the many completed homes designed by Alchemy.