159 Victory Rd, Laingholm, Auckland. Photo / Ted Baghurst
Building their home was always on the agenda for Gaysorn Thavat and Ginny Loane.
"Because Ginny's dad is a builder, she really wanted to build a house one day," says Gaysorn.
That day came in 2004 after they finally found a section in Laingholm that fitted the bill.
"We liked the elevation, the trees and the neighbourhood," says Gaysorn.
With Glen Loane on board to build the home, they followed his suggestion to commission architect Malcolm Taylor, of XSite Architecture, to design it.
Gaysorn says they gave Malcolm a broad idea of what they liked.
"We wanted a lot of wood because Glen was going to build it," she says. "We wanted something modern but built with old-school craftsmanship and a sense of permanence - and we did like the mid-century look as well.
"And because we both work in the film industry we wanted something that was going to be a haven when we weren't working,"
"But we gave Malcolm a pretty open brief because we trusted his expertise and skill."
Malcolm had a tree house in mind when he designed the home as three stacked boxes - the bottom one being the garage/workshop. The middle box is the living level, with the top box, containing two bedrooms and a bathroom, cantilevered off it.
"It's got some gymnastics going on with a double cantilever," says Malcolm.
This effect creates shelter off the living areas below the bedroom level, which appears to float above the dark base beneath it, an illusion heightened by the use of white cement board soffits between the two levels. A cantilevered roof with skylight covers the deck off the main bedroom.
Malcolm says Glen brought all his experience to bear - handcrafting joinery and cabinetry - and when going the extra mile such as cladding the home in plywood with batten on board over top.
"He wet the plywood before he put it on and when it dried out it tightened like a drum," says Malcolm.
Three different widths of board were used to clad the house to give it "a more organic look", heightened by the fact it thrusts out of a river stone base, which conceals drainage around the house.
Malcolm says using a low-pitched membrane roof "allows us to place skylights where we want such as over the shower and the entrance points".
The skylights take on greater importance given the design of the house has limited openings on the eastern and western sides to screen out the neighbours.
The spaces on both levels flow beautifully from north to south, though, aided by having the stairs on one wall and, on the living level, the kitchen along the opposite wall.
Malcolm says he was pleased Ginny and Gaysorn chose not to have an island bench in the kitchen or walk-in wardrobe in the upstairs bedroom as it maintains the home's openness and simple, elegant lines.
Not only did Glen give a lot of time, but he also donated some of his builder's stash of timber - including recycled wood floors from a home in Thames and an assortment of chunky timber steps on the open tread stairs.
As you move up the stairs you see a terrific example of Glen's handiwork in the wall of storage and display he created.
From the living level you can move out to the northern deck where there is an open fire and views over the valley, or out to the southern deck, which is sheltered and opens out to the back yard with its garden beds and bush backdrop.
"This is like a secret garden really because it is tucked away," says Gaysorn. "It's lovely in summer to come out here and have a beer while you water the garden."
Upstairs, the main bedroom opens out to a large covered deck overlooking the garden.
This bedroom has a wall of storage and a built-in desk.
Gaysorn says they made provision so this room can be turned into two bedrooms, with the front bedroom then becoming the master.
A bathroom with vertically arranged white railway tiles sits between the two bedrooms.
As well as solid timber, the home features materials such as Meranti ply and some cork tile walls.
The latter come in handy, says Gaysorn, when she is structuring a film and she can put up notes on the cork walls, which serve as a storyboard.
Malcolm says the home is testament to what can be achieved with craftsmanship and imagination.
He says: "It wasn't what you would call an expensive house - they were budget-conscious - but they didn't cut back on the architectural endeavour and adventure."
The mortgage is just the start of it.