KEY POINTS:
When the boxed-in spaces of their Auckland bungalow began to wear thin, Ben and Rachael Marris started looking for something new. They found it in Herne Bay in the form of a 720sq m site, complete with design plans for a house.
While Rachael and Ben liked what they saw in the proposed two-level home with a basement garage, they asked the original designers to revisit the plans with their lifestyles and those of their children - Alex, aged 6, and Isabella, 2 - in mind.
"We didn't tell them how we wanted it laid out, but we did tell them how we wanted to live," says Ben. "Twenty-four hours later they came back to us with concept plans for the house as it now is."
One of the major challenges was bringing natural light into the five-bedroom home because the section sits at an awkward angle. "The site sits acutely to the sun, rather than directly north or east/west for instance, and there was a lot of work done to get the sun penetrating right into the house," designer Colin Leuschke says.
Sun pours in through the north-facing sliding glass doors which open the living area to the courtyard and in-ground pool, which can also be reached from a private deck off the guest bedroom. The master bedroom, at the opposite end of the house, also opens to its own secluded courtyard and garden. But it's the spacious open-plan living area - a stark contrast to their former home - that the Marris family treasures. The kitchen of their old house had four entry points, but their new kitchen is tucked behind the upper stairwell, near the dining area and lounge on one side. The kitchen has strong lines, complemented by horizontal-striped wallpaper and a glass splashback.
The expansive island bench has built-in shelving as well as a breakfast bar that is close to the children's television lounge. To make the space more flexible, floor-to-ceiling sliding doors at one end of the kitchen can be used to create the illusion of a solid wall when closing off the children's lounge. This means the couple can keep an eye on the kids from the kitchen, but when they're entertaining adult friends in the main lounge they shut the doors, separating the kids and their friends at the other end of the room.
The computer station is also behind closed doors, as is the scullery opposite the breakfast bar. When it came to the colour scheme of their new home, interior designer Emma Kate Bamford encouraged Rachael to go beyond shades she was comfortable with. Says Bamford, "Rachael loves colour, and she was happy to be stretched.
We have children the same age which helps, because I had an idea of what she needed in her house and how it had to work for the family." Another innovative way of bringing light - and fresh air - into the home was the gallery garden behind sliding doors at the top of the entry stairs.
Learning curve
Style file: Take time to collect pieces of fabric or any other items that define the look you're after.
Growth strategy: If you can, begin planting the garden before work begins on your home so it has time to mature before your house is finished.
Hue and cry: An interior designer will save you a lot of time and trouble when it comes to colour schemes.
Outdoors indoors: Blank walls can be dull so when building or renovating, consider incorporating a walled, gallery-style garden with sliding doors.
* Leanne Moore is the editor of Your Home & Garden. For more on the Marris home, see the issue on sale now, or visit www.yourhomeandgarden.co.nz.
