Dream home with a view that almost wasn't

Debbie and Neville Kershaw's Cromwell house is seen at the top right of this photo. Photo / Supplied

Pam Jones talks to a Cromwell couple about the view from their home that nearly wasn't.

Some might say Debbie and Neville Kershaw are "lucky" to have their home, but luck never came into it, Mrs Kershaw said.

"Really, it's the result of doggedness, determination and hard work over the years. It took almost 10 years to secure the site and another 13 years to finalise plans, get multiple resource consents and build the house."

And all along, it was the view of Lake Dunstan that was central in everybody's minds.

The Kershaws' journey into their "million-dollar view" home began more than 30 years ago, and it was not a journey for the faint-hearted.

What started out as the innocent purchase of an old art deco-style holiday house in 1986 turned into a project of David and Goliath proportions as secret dealings, bureaucracy and complicated land rules came into play when the status of the land in front of the holiday home - which had unencumbered views to Lake Dunstan - was changed a decade later.

The Kershaw family, who bought the house before Lake Dunstan was filled, spent "many great holidays" there for the first 13 years, enjoying the fact they could walk across the Crown land in front of them and straight down to the lake that had eventuated.

"Then, around 1999, I noticed a couple of well-dressed chaps wandering around on the Crown land and asked if I could help them," Mr Kershaw said.

"'No, we're fine thanks,' they said, 'and this land in front of you is going on the market'."

Surprise did not begin to explain the reaction of the Kershaws, who would have lost their views of the lake from a home bought in good faith; they had always thought the Crown land would remain so.

But "what they [the Crown] had done was basically put a line around all the old part-sections that had been claimed by the Crown, made them into two lots and then proposed to put them on the market", Mr Kershaw said.

The land was initially offered to Ngai Tahu, who put it up for sale, and the Kershaws "made it known to anyone involved that we were keen to own the land, but we couldn't afford the price they were asking", Mrs Kershaw said.

Fortunately for them, there was a lull in the market and no-one could afford the price Ngai Tahu was asking. Ngai Tahu relinquished their interest and the land went back on the public market. It was snapped up on day one by the Kershaws, who could not really afford it at the time but knew they had no option but to buy it to protect their home and views.

But that was just the beginning of the consents process.

After they bought the extra land, the Kershaws then discovered the section had been included in the Old Cromwell Heritage Precinct. That was an added complication that required resource consent if the Kershaws wanted to build on it. Additional resource consents were also required because of old gold-mining tunnels on one edge of the section, and to breach the 15m setback from the lake.

The couple asked semiretired architect Max Wild to come up with "something appropriate" and to overcome the multiple obstacles with the site. He came up with a concept plan and then the Kershaws' longtime friend Graham Dickson did the working drawings for the house. ATD Builders built the house, winning a bronze medal in the "Up to $1 million" category of the Masters Builders awards that year. The Central Otago District Council was particularly helpful throughout the planning and consents process, the Kershaws said.

What the Kershaws have now, after all those years of waiting and work, is a house that "overlooks the beach and lake but doesn't intrude or impose itself", Mr Kershaw said.

The house's very footprint is in itself a solution to particular obstacles on the section, which is a semi-triangular site, half of which could not be built on and with a foul sewer across the middle.

The 260sqm house has been built as four small components, each with a different roofline.

"While distinctly modern, [it] looks rather like a conglomeration of old buildings," Mrs Kershaw says.

Inside the home, which has three bedrooms and an office, various rooms have either one, two, three or four ceiling pitches, which adds interest and creates a feeling of space.

"Viewed from the beach below or the lake, the roof lines can be spotted elsewhere in the precinct and the house blends in remarkably well," Mrs Kershaw said.

"We're particularly happy with this aspect of the house."

Other things they feel have been successful are the lake views from all living spaces and bedrooms (Mr Kershaw can see the fish jumping in Lake Dunstan from his bed); the indoor-outdoor flow and choice of outdoor areas according to the weather; and the privacy.

And what they had expected to be a challenge - the sun to the north and the view to the south - has "proved to work extremely well", Mrs Kershaw says.

An old apricot tree overlooks one of the guest rooms. Photo / Pam Jones

"The house pretty much remains at a comfortable temperature and we rarely have to shut out the summer sun. Glass doors on three walls of the living space enable good air flow when required. Winter sun sneaks into odd corners at different times so there's always somewhere warm to sit."

The Kershaws also did not skimp on insulation: the eco-friendly house has extra-thick 15cm walls, a floor filled with additional insulation, hotblocks to keep the warmth of the underfloor heating in the slab, gas-filled thermally broken double glazing, underfloor central heating, a log burner with wetback, and solar panels.

For Mr Kershaw, the light that infiltrates the house is particularly special.

"I inherited my love of light from my father, the late Morris Kershaw, who was a well-known photographer. Soft light was his forté. I like that too."

Other people like the house as well: the Kershaws' two children, two grandchildren and other family members and friends are frequent and welcome visitors. Last year, they had 26 for Christmas dinner.

Semiretired from previous careers in journalism and property management (Mrs Kershaw) and banking and commercial real estate (Mr Kershaw), the couple continue to be happy in their home.

"It's a lovely house to live in," Mr Kershaw said.

There is just one thing to be completed.

A garage is still to be constructed, out the back.