Pt Chevalier: Land ahoy

In the coastal suburb of Pt Chevalier, this striking home is designed to maximise outdoor entertaining while providing a multitude of living spaces and a strong connection with the ocean. By CHARLOTTE COSSAR.

Designed by architect Carolyn Smith of Collective Architecture for herself and family, this home is a stunning example of how a small site surrounded by an eclectic mix of housing is transformed into a functional and spacious zone with reminiscent hints of the Kiwi bach.

After growing tired of looking for old villas and bungalows, most of which required a lot of work to achieve a simple, sunny, well-orientated and functional layout, Carolyn and her husband decided to build on this flat 402sq m site with a beautiful weeping elm tree, views of Meola Reef reserve and glimpses of the upper harbour.

Top of her requirements list was to create a home that maximised the site while following the sun to provide sunny, sheltered outdoor spaces offering choices day and night - and a home with an underlying sense of holiday and fun that was, of course, low maintenance both inside and out.

Says Carolyn: "We wanted a thermally comfortable house at all times of the year that would be a pleasure to come home to - a house that somehow expressed a positive character and energised the occupant."

Having previously studied music composition and dance, it was important to Carolyn that the spatial experience of the house encouraged a sense of movement, flow and dynamics.

The journey begins at the entrance and stairwell, which is high, light and lofty, allowing all-day sun to penetrate the centre of the home. Your eye is drawn to a 7.5m-high metallic gold wall, which is spectacular at night, slicing through the house and acting like a spine for the rest of the structure, then down to a glass-covered channel filled with shells that runs along the length of the wall to the living spaces.

Complementing this is the heated, polished concrete floor with its pieces of blue glass and white marble chip that dreamily floats through the lower level and ensures year-round warmth. Cleverly concealed below ground is a wine cellar that, says Carolyn, was a particular requirement for a developing passion for wine after an extended stay in France.

A soft, warm grey painted throughout the home is highlighted in various areas with splashes of lime green and smoky purple, providing a sensual experience that owners can enhance with their own furnishings.

The spacious living areas comprise the kitchen, dining and lounge. These areas with different height ceilings offer distinctive spaces in which to enjoy a variety of entertaining situations.

"The sloping ceilings over the kitchen and dining are faced with plywood panels with exposed negative detailing and this creates a nice contrast between the adjacent living spaces whose ceilings are lower and more intimate," says Carolyn.

Visually warmer materials have been used in the living, dining and kitchen areas creating a homely lived-in feel far removed from the minimalist style of many contemporary dwellings.

The kitchen with jarrah and rewarewa cabinetry and a stainless bench and splashback is positioned to enjoy views of the nearby reserve. These views are afforded by doors in the dining areas leading to a private courtyard - one of many! The spacious lounge with its stunning jarrah mantle and floor inserts also opens to an outdoor entertaining area, providing yet another option for indoor-outdoor living.

On the other side of the house are the family bathroom, painted a deep blue, a laundry behind doors and two bedrooms, which have a rear wall painted a soft, smoky lavender.

Solid jarrah stairs, detailed with a stainless wire balustrade and jarrah handrails, continue the slightly nautical flavour upstairs. Here, Carolyn has used another easy-care, low-irritant flooring choice - Strandboard stained with an industrial jarrah stain with a polyurethane coating.

The master bedroom, en suite - which is painted a mixture of lavenders and light aqua for a watery, dreamy effect - and open wardrobe flank one side of the house, while a guest wing occupies the other.

Says Carolyn: "The main living box is connected to the guest/office wing by a two-level, 6m-long, steel-framed breezeway. The floorboards of the upper breezeway have been set with 10mm gaps like a jetty, and, in combination with the tension membrane roof above these elements, heighten the awareness of the experience of walking across the breezeway - and it's just more fun getting to the other side."

The guest space or second living space above the double garage was designed as a flexible space. Currently used as a music-cum-drawing-cum-guest room, it works well. "The slight separation from the main house block offered possibilities for an effective home office, a good-sized nanny suite or second [teenage] living space," says Carolyn.

This area also has a small en suite and loads of storage, which has been cleverly designed using the lower part of the curved roof.

The lower level of this breezeway has large, sliding cedar screens on both sides that open to otherwise separate afternoon and northern courtyards and create a seamless connection.

Says Carolyn: "The exterior design of the house maximises the glazing to the north for passive solar efficiency and to the east for potential views."

Maintaining privacy from neighbouring houses was also an important consideration. Says Carolyn: "This was achieved by carefully measuring and taking into consideration the location of existing houses and their openings when positioning the windows, doors and courtyards."

Completing the home is the exterior cladding. Using vertically grooved, rough-sawn ply with a blackbean stain - a finish and colour that reminded Carolyn of the old Kiwi bach - flashing details in Zincalume and silver anodised aluminium joinery, a striking low-maintenance pallet encases this "playful and light-hearted" home that has always been a popular destination for friends and family to visit.

Vital Statistics

ADDRESS: 79A Wainui Ave, Pt Chevalier.

FEATURES: Contemporary three- or four-bedroom home with views of Meola Reef and peek of the sea; rewarewa and jarrah kitchen with a one-piece stainless benchtop and splashback, gas hobs, integrated microwave and plenty of storage; laundry behind doors; three bathrooms (two en suites); spacious living and dining opening to separate areas; wine cellar; internal-access double garaging; various courtyards and outdoor entertaining areas to catch all-day sun; glazed, opening breezeway connecting the two areas of the home; heating is a gas-fired, water filled, polybutylene piped system that has been zoned for increased temperature control and underfloor heating.

SIZE: Land area 402sq m.

PRICE: $800,000 to $900,000 (by negotiation).

AGENTS: Wayne Bulog and Selwyn Houry, Unlimited Potential, Herne Bay. Ph 361 6658 bus; Wayne 0274 723 557 mob; Selwyn 021 535 635 mob.