A Family Sanctuary
Registered Master Builders – House of the
Year Awards
- Canterbury Silver 2017
- Architectural Build, Linetype Architectural
Optimising the available space is crucial when you’re planning to build a spacious family home in an intensively developed area like the popular Christchurch suburb of Papanui. It’s a challenge for any builder, but by working closely with our clients and their architect, we came up with a clever design that maximised the potential of the section.
The brief from our clients was to give them a tranquil escape from the busy surrounding neighbourhood. It was very important that our landscape design created a peaceful outdoor living and garden area that incorporated the established trees, while still flooding the home with natural light.
Secure foundations
Lessons learned from the 2011 earthquakes mean that anyone building a house in Christchurch must future-proof the home against earthquakes by taking additional care in the construction of the foundations.
After an initial assessment, which included geotech drilling and consultation with our engineer, we elected to use a Rib Raft slab rather than piling. A Rib Raft is an innovative method of building concrete flooring slabs where the foundations sit ‘on’ the ground, not ‘in’ the ground, and makes the entire house seismically stronger. Rib Raft slabs use a combination of polystyrene pods, steel reinforcing rods, plastic spacers and a special concrete formulation, which together reduce the overall pouring time.
A welcoming living space
Artistic custom cut-out panels draw the visitor to the main entrance, while maintaining the owners’ privacy from passing traffic. The gable height entrance, timber flooring, and angled walls effortlessly draw you into the heart of the home.
Inside the house, the sloping ceilings in the entranceway, living areas and master bedroom add proportion and create the impression of a larger and more spacious home – a sensation that’s enhanced by the colour scheme, which features ‘Resene Black White’ on the walls and ceilings.
Outdoor living is of utmost importance to our clients, so it was love at first sight when they saw the northwest-facing open-plan living and dining areas that open onto a sheltered deck.
This entertaining space is tailor-made for large groups and dinner parties with kids. There’s also a second light-filled living space that’s separate from the kitchen/dining area and also flows out to the deck and garden.
With the luxury of a walk-in wardrobe and spacious tiled ensuite, the master bedroom is a serene retreat. The two other bedrooms share a generously sized second bathroom. The double garage with internal access conveniently incorporates the laundry to liberate extra living space inside the house.
Climate control designed in
You might think that a north-facing house with large floor-to-ceiling windows in the living areas would be unbearably stuffy in hot summer, and then cold in winter. Not this one! We recommended installing a ducted heating/cooling system that redistributes warm air around the house to create a comfortable, even temperature throughout, even on the hottest days. During winter, the same system works like a heat pump and keeps the entire house lovely and warm.
An exceptionally entertaining kitchen
The modern touches extend to the sleek, open-plan, entertainer’s kitchen, where the monochromatic decor ties in perfectly with the rest of the home. Every detail of this new kitchen has been thought through in the smallest detail to provide the owners with a beautiful, yet highly practical space for entertaining guests. The timber accents complement the flooring and help to create an inviting atmosphere, and the kitchen’s modern feel is enhanced by the handleless door fronts, soft-close drawers, and push to open mechanisms, which also help maximise the usable space around the benches and breakfast bar.
In fact, wherever you look in this house, you’ll see exceptional detailing that achieves a seamless look with sharp lines that work together to produce a wonderful light-filled space. The whole Fleetwood Construction team poured their heart into this project, and we’re proud to see the result of our care and passion being loved as a family home.
