automatic louvres, bi fold and sliding windows or, if the weather’s not the best, flick the heaters on and enjoy the view comfortably under cover.
There is a great appreciation when you can stand back and look at what you have helped create. This home is a prime example of the kiwi dream, with commanding views of the beach and ocean from every room, all within a stone’s throw away. Beautiful features of the house and outdoor living areas provide options to enjoy the home rain or shine. Just being there gives you the feeling of a luxurious home away from home. Daily passers-by, be it people walking, driving and the odd boat or paddle boarder, would often stop to stare and admire the house, with nothing but positive comments from everyone that we spoke to. Wow factors that made this house special include the pre-cast concrete columns and raking glass and garden in between; these great features lead you into the main entrance foyer with large floor to ceiling pivot door. As you step through the foyer and leading into the main living area you can’t help but look up at the light flooding in from the top light windows onto the feature V shape tg&v cedar ceiling, which defines the open plan environment. Your eye is automatically drawn to the amazing sight of the beach and ocean, and with the flick of a lock you bring
26 INHOUSE | OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2015
In most major alterations/renovations architectural/high end homes are not without challenges and surprises with the existing structure along the way. However the end result was well worth the effort. We transformed an existing tired 1980s house into a modern architectural home to admire. In the early days we found the existing slab running significantly out of level from end to end and remedied the problem by lifting the mid floor and re framing. We had an engineer on board to complete calculations to underpin the existing foundations to avoid any future problems giving us a solid base to work from.
the outside in. Large stacker doors bring you out onto the main deck from the lounge with panoramic views of the beach, or go alfresco by opening up the architectural sliders which open at a right angle on both sides giving you unobstructed access to the alfresco area and stunning views of the ocean. On sunny days open up the
The existing base was constructed out of brick, a decision was made to delete a lot of this, however some of the existing brickwork was retained and added onto which was a task cleaning up old bricks and matching in. Changes were made to the front entrance - originally we had mahogany columns connected with ss brackets, the clients being in the concrete industry were keen to make the change from mahogany to precast