Rural Idyll

“I have always loved Linea™ Weatherboard for houses,” says Virginia. “It’s a durable product that can be painted a large variety of colours.”

When Virginia and Alan Henderson noticed that a farm in Pukekohe East had been subdivided into lifestyle blocks, they were immediately interested. However, they didn’t want a big chunk of land, having previously had 10 hectares in the same area. So they waited for the subdivision to offer a more manageable one-acre site size, then pounced.

“It’s always been my dream to build this house on one acre with native trees filled with tūī singing and wood pigeons,” says Virginia. While the home is a downsize in terms of land, it has a 320m² floorplan. Virginia and Alan wanted plenty of room for hosting visitors. Referencing Virginia’s parents’ home in the Pukekohe area, they wanted “a fabulous family home that was great for entertaining and family gatherings”.

Working with their architect friend Richard Furze, they settled on a design that offers all-day sun, optimised living and easy maintenance. A budget of $900,000 was set for the build and careful project management ensured it wasn’t exceeded.

The Design

The resulting H-shaped, four-bedroom home has a large open-plan kitchen, dining and living space, separate media room and spectacular indoor-outdoor flow. The sheltered courtyard-style deck is accessible from the living space and the main bedroom.

As well as wonderful areas for entertaining, the home has defined spaces for quiet pastimes, such as reading and listening to music. High-pitched ceilings throughout give every room a feeling of upmarket elegance.

The exterior of the home is clad in Linea™ Weatherboard by James Hardie. This choice salutes New Zealand’s proud tradition of weatherboard homes, with the low maintenance benefits of fibre cement.

The couple opted to paint their home with Resene Quarter Gravel, a soft grey that harmonises with the countryside. Landscaping is still a work in progress. Eventually there will be a garden among the native trees, a utility shed to match the house, a vegetable patch with fruit trees and a playground for the grandchildren, as well as an outdoor fireplace. It’s already easy to see why the home is affectionately called the ‘Pukekohe East Hilton’.