Rick Dowling and Nicky Kendall's Aramoho home backs onto the Whanganui River. Photo / Bevan Conley
Rick Dowling and Nicky Kendall's Aramoho home backs onto the Whanganui River. Photo / Bevan Conley
Ray White Whanganui has partnered with the Whanganui Chronicle to find the city's most beautiful home.
Each day this week we will profile one of the six finalists of the Beautiful Homes Whanganui competition, with public voting now open.
Rick Dowling and Nicky Kendall haven't been in Whanganui long, but they already feel like they're home.
The couple moved into their newly completed Aramoho home at the beginning of the year after making the shift from Auckland searching for a cheaper lifestyle to live out their retirement.
"My wife retired, and we could never afford to buy in Auckland. We didn't want to spend all our pension funds on rent," Dowling said.
The pair picked up a real estate magazine and looked at all the places in New Zealand within their price range, going as far south as Invercargill and as far north as Whangārei.
During the trip, the couple came across Whanganui, which they fell in love with.
"We just liked the place. We like the feel of it."
The couple then had the task of looking for a plot of land in the city, and eventually struck gold.
"We looked at about nine or 10 sections in Whanganui, and we could afford this one. It's a very nice spot with plenty of sun."
They built their home on a plot of sun-drenched river-front land in Aramoho. The home is called Tīramaroa, which roughly translates to 'the long light'.
The focus then shifted to choosing the design of their new home, where the pair decided to put their own spin on an already existing Buildtech design.
The couple looked closely at what made the house stand out, including the design of the window panels at the front of the home, as well as the colour.
The couple has multiple stained glass windows in the home, including this one inspired by canoes on the Whanganui River. Photo / Bevan Conley
"It was these windows we saw in the concept drawing. That to me is the big draw of the place."
"We initially weren't going to go for white on the outside. We we're going to go for grey, but we changed our minds."
The home also has the added feature of stained glass windows inspired by the Whanganui river, designed by Taranaki glass artist Richard Landers.
"We went to the New Zealand glass centre and told them we liked the idea. They gave us his name and we went up to his studio and we were blown away," Kendall said.
The home is small, but doesn't feel like it has a small footprint looking at it from the outside. With very high ceilings across the whole home, it provides not only functionality for the tall homeowner, but a unique impression from the outside.
"It's my first home where I can't touch the roof," Dowling laughed.
Designed as a home for their retirement, Rick and Nicky said it was important that they fell in love with the property.
"We expect to live here until we're in a dotage. If things go to plan, we'll live here longer than anywhere we've lived in our lives. We love Whanganui."
