A quaint series of separate pavillions create a sheltered courtyard garden, which crown a windswept site in the Onewhero Hills. Built in stages, the cottage, where the owners resided while the main house was completed, later developed as a guest house, and was completed by the garage enclosing the courtyard.
The series of buildings are constructed from Celcrete Aerated Concrete Blocks with a skip trowel Plaster render, to add extra dimension through the textural quality of the finish. The owners are delighted to find the interior very quiet and warm, with external noise from guest’s vehicles coming and going up the driveway not noticeable at all.
The main house features a hand crafted fireplace mantle and hearth, built by the owner using reclaimed railway sleepers and who honed the keystones and surround from local materials. High overhead, a generously pitched Skillion roof is sarked with natural timber and articulated with exposed rafters which create a distinctive lodge feel. The reclamation theme continues through the Rimu joinery, which was largely collected and lovingly restored from a church hall being demolished in the area.
The complex is now delivering as a highly functional inter-generational delight.