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Vibrant & Victorian

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If there was ever a home with a story to tell, it’s this one! Situated in Clarks Beach, Hayley and Chris Parsons love their 640 square metre Victorian beauty that sits on 9 hectares of rural coastal land overlooks water on both sides.

As a military family the Parsons family moved regularly between domestic and international posts. But settling back in New Zealand, they wanted a rural lifestyle to raise their four children and Clarks Beach in Franklin ticked all the boxes.

It overlooks the water and is very peaceful. It always feels like you’re on holiday when you come home which is restful when you work in very busy roles. It is a great community.

Humble beginnings

Huntly House started its life back in 1911 in Central Palmerston North. It was the first house in Palmerston North to have its own electricity supply at some stage before 1924.

It was moved to another part of Palmerston North in the 1980’s and the Parsons were lucky enough to meet the man who owned it at that time. Thankfully he had left some cut marks in the house to remind him of his work – Hayley and Chris used the exact same ones and have kept those cuts visible in their home for the same reason.

The house flowed through many lives. People are often fascinated to learn that at one point it had been used as a mechanics workshop and the cut out for the grease pit remains in the main lounge!

The BIG move

The Parsons family initially decided to build a new, modern, single level dwelling on the site. This would have been simpler, faster, and cheaper than relocating a 3 storey, 111-year-old house!

However, they were totally enamoured with Huntly House the first time they saw her and ideas of ‘what-if’ started to flow if they owned the home. As with most house purchases, they became emotionally invested in the process and did everything needed to ensure the purchase happened. But it wasn’t easy – they were number 6 on the buyers list so had to convince the vendor to sell the house to them!

The sale went through and the planning phase started for moving Huntly House 500km North to Clarks Beach.

Preparing the house to move took about 5 days which involved removing brick chimneys, removing, and securing parts of the roof, separating 3 floors, removing stair banisters, removing parts of ceiling, cutting, bracing and labelling every single piece of timber that was removed and was intended to be reused.

Transportation of the first two smallest pieces was overnight from Palmerston North to Clarks Beach.

Transportation of the larger 4 pieces took two nights. The first leg was Palmerston North to Tokoroa and then Tokoroa to Clarks Beach.

The house travelled mostly straight up State Highway 1, twisting, and turning through the Desert Road and around Lake Taupo. They encountered a large house travelling in the opposite direction around Lake Taupo so had to hastily pull to the side of the road to let the move pass!

Once all 6 pieces were on site and everyone had managed a few hours’ sleep, the work to piece everything back together on piles started the very next morning. This process took about 7 days and then the detailed reconstruction started soon after that.

The renovation got started however in December 2017 the family moved to London, so they had to project manage the renovation from the other side of the world which was a challenge. Luckily, they had a great relationship with the builders – Heineke Builders Ltd.

The shift definitely added complications (of a budgetary nature) as they couldn’t do a lot of the work themselves as originally planned.

The most exciting part about our home is seeing the vision come to life – and I don’t mean in terms of decorating choices. We always felt the home could be used as more than just our family home and likewise, our land too. In the last two years we have let the house out for music recording, short film production, yoga classes, workshops, conference space, residential workshops, birthdays, Airbnb, a sheep sale and weddings.

The stately exterior

The original timber weatherboards are painted in Resene Double Truffle and the eaves in Resene Half Sea Fog.

The roof and some of the wooden accents at the top of the house are Grey Friars and that was also the colour chosen for the Marley Stratus Design Series® Stormcloud® spouting and RP80® downpipes. The darker shade of grey definitely frames the house beautifully.

The paths around the house are Waikato fleck pebble, created from firebricks salvaged from the fireplaces at Rahiri House, Mt Albert which were offered to Hayley when they renovated.

Whilst a cottage garden would have been in keeping with the style of house, it could not stand up to the coastal environment therefore natives suitable for coastal and high wind conditions have been planted.

Marley is a household name for us. We have used Marley products on all our building projects and love that it’s made in New Zealand.

The Parsons did have the option to use pressed steel spouting, like what was already on the house, but as they’re in a coastal environment they decided on the longevity of the Marley product because it won’t rust or corrode – and the Stratus Design Series® had the Grey Friars® they wanted.

We knew we wanted to have a neutral colour palette that would complement the environment. We started with the roof and spouting in Grey Friars and the door colour, Resene Pohutakawa, and went from there.

We also knew we didn’t want to have white downpipes so selected Stratus RP80® in Grey Friars® to match the roof and decks and they are really happy with the contrast.

The Stormcloud® profile was chosen for its clean, strong lines.

The beautiful interior

Hayley and Chris have re-used as much of the original timber as possible. Every piece of architrave, beading, skirting board, and panelling that was removed in preparation for cutting the house, was labelled and their corresponding positions on the walls were also labelled.

Trying to put it all back together was like a massive wasgij but it was so worth it!

Huntly House now has 7 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms, 2 full kitchens, and a new kitchenette, scullery and laundry. The floorplan now means the house can be split into three independent sections.

They opted for quite a neutral colour scheme inside with walls in Resene Quarter Truffle and ceilings in Quarter seafog. The main feature is definitely the timber staircase, exposed beams and wooden flooring which are all finished in Resene Qristal Clear polyurethane matte varnish to bring out the natural richness in the wood.

The modern kitchen incorporates things like a flip top power and USB charger in the breakfast bar for convenience. The smooth white style with wooden accents looks crisp and clean.

The bathrooms have a traditional feel, one with the original clawfoot bath which they resurfaced, and the cabinet and even the copper cistern in the main bathroom are original too.

In hindsight we probably would have clawed back some areas of the budget to put full sound proofing in-between the floors – families are noisy! Our 4 children are now grown, but still come home to visit with their partners when they can. We love how the house can be used in so many ways and for more than one thing at a time.

It feels great that we have succeeded in recreating Huntly House for our home but also for the community and others that wish to enjoy her.

There’s no denying she looks the part in the landscape, and the Parsons know she will stand the test of time overlooking the coast for another 100 years!

We’re so pleased we went with Marley Stratus Design Series® because it looks great and we really do know it will last!

Whangaparaoa refresh

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When Ian Thrush from Parallel Architecture embarked on renovations to his family’s Whangaparaoa home, he certainly didn’t expect it to turn into an almost full re-build!

The original weatherboard home was built in 1950’s and sits on a half share of the 1,100 square metre cross lease site.

Over the years the old house had many additions and alterations that ended up causing a really disorganised floor plan” says Ian.

Originally, the intention was to achieve more storage space and update the bathroom. However, over time the scope changed and grew – as it does! Six years later, the 110 square metre footprint remains unchanged, however they have corrected the design flaws via a new layout and flow. All but two rooms were moved, and they now have a well-organised 3-bedroom family home.

The most challenging part of the build was living in the house while renovating. Not to mention having a baby over that time also! Ideally, we would have had an empty house to work on but that is not always possible, so you just do what’s needed to make it work!” Ian says.

Ian chose Marley Stratus Design Series® Typhoon® spouting and RP80® downpipes as they’re available in Grey Friars® to match the roof, and because the half-round profile has excellent rainfall capacity. It’s also particularly hard wearing in a coastal location, with great UV resistance and a 15-year guarantee.

Being in Whangaparaoa, the property is on tank water, therefore Ian also opted to install a Marley Curve® leaf diverters on the RP80® downpipes. The Curve® removes leaves and debris to protect tanks and stormwater systems. Curve® is very easy to install and low maintenance, capturing over 99% of water with a clean screen.

The family went for the Dynex PALLISIDE® traditional profile in slate to create a character home. The double light-grey boards look great with white box corners and window facings, to emulate the traditional timber look. The overall outcome is clean lines for a modern, yet characterful home.

Ian chose Dynex Soffit to replace the existing soffit as it looks great, is low maintenance, and as with PALLISIDE® weatherboards, never needs to be painted. It also adds to the classic style of the home.

Ian upgraded from single glazing to double glazing, which has been great. That combined with a wrapped and insulated home has made a world of difference to the family’s quality of life.

The interior of the home has a very neutral palette of Resene Quarter Thorndon Cream, Black White ceilings, and timber accents to bring a touch of nature in. The bathroom and laundry have a classic look with vertical tongue and groove boards on the lower half of the walls.

Sensor lights were installed in the hall and under the vanity, which is great at night for using the bathroom or checking on the kids. Nice soft light at shin level, rather than a ceiling light in your face!

The best aspect of our new home is that it is truly low maintenance. And we also love the indoor-outdoor flow” says Ian.

As both architectural designer and homeowner, Ian and his family are really happy with their newly refreshed home, and are pleased they chose the Marley Stratus Design Series® Typhoon® spouting and RP80® downpipes for the low maintenance, stylish finish they were after.

Home by the bay

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In an effortless combination of coastal chic and country charm, this gorgeous four-bedroom home sits surrounded by lush lawn and attractive landscaping within its huge 1597sqm north-east facing Coromandel section. No wonder it has won a gold award in the Auckland / Northland / Coromandel New Home $600,000 – $750,000 category in the 2021 House of the Year competition! Well done HAMR Homes.

Clad in vertical cedar shiplap weatherboard with good-looking stone features and a black corrugated Coloursteel roof, the house blends in beautifully with its coastal bush and farmland setting. Chosen for its clean lines and durability to the coastal environment the Marley Stratus Design Series® Typhoon® spouting and RP80® downpipes in Grey Friars® work perfectly with the warm tones. The choice of internal brackets mean the spouting has long runs with very clean lines. The half round Typhoon® profile is also great in high rainfall areas with a flow capacity of 87 litres/minute.

The entrance and outdoor living porticos are positioned perfectly to take in the view of Wharekaho Beach and Mercury Bay. From every window you’re able to take in the wonderful views of the surrounding farmland, wetlands, ocean, highway and local birds.

Every day is so different and the sunrises can be spectacular.

The kitchen and laundry incorporate crisp forms of laminate benchtops and melamine cabinets, with quality appliances and Methven tapware to give a top-class look.

The main suite is simply sublime with a sliding door leading to the outdoors, and large windows overlooking the bay view. In the ensuite, the black tiled shower features a mirror window, so the owners can enjoy an evening shower with the sense of being outside.

The house blends beautifully within its coastal farmland setting.

Built to achieve maximum results in a cost-effective way, the impeccable dwelling has delivered on everything the owners wanted for their coastal dream home.

Derelict to delightful in Dairy Flat

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This quaint 1920’s bungalow has had a very adventurous life! It was built in Park Ave, Takapuna where it stayed until 1977, at which time it was shifted to a beautiful site in Dairy Flat. It’s had many renovations over the years, the most recent a top to bottom refurbishment to create the now stunning home it is for Ed Aitken and family.

Ed bought the home 5 years ago in a seriously tired and lived in state. Renovations started by adding 25m2 to make a total of 230m2 for the 4-bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and 2 living spaces. The aim was to totally modernise the home for comfortable living while still retaining the classic charm of the era. This includes wide skirting boards, solid timbers and using the high ceiling space to maximum effect.

The house is filled with warm tones and inviting textures. The entrance way features beautiful old Kauri boards which were uncovered during the work and whitewashed as a stunning entrance feature. Sliding doors were recycled from a clifftop home in the North Shore Bays and used to give the home interest.

The galley kitchen has utilised existing marble on a spacious island bench – simply perfect for entertaining and feeding meals through to the light and bright dining room. State of the art appliances make it a cook’s dream.

Most interior spaces were painted in Resene White and Alabaster, with the lounge in Triple Sea Fog and the kitchen in Double Tapa. Full underfloor ducted air conditioning by Panasonic has been chosen to keep the home warm and dry.

The children have bedrooms to envy, one with a well-constructed sky bed, perfect for the privacy and space a teenager needs.

The exterior has been lovingly restored from top to bottom. Weatherboards stripped back and painted in Resene Sonyx 101 Double Foundry which is basically a dark grey with a blue tinge. Windows and trim in Resene Waterborne Enamel white gloss for contrast.

All framed perfectly with Marley Stratus Design Series® Typhoon® spouting and RP80® downpipes in Grey Friars®.

Ed was keen to have external brackets which look amazing with a traditional homes and they’re also great for high wind zones, like this site. However, rather than having them positioned every 300mm as recommended, Ed opted to alternate between internal and external brackets. This means every second bracket is external and positioned 600mm apart with the added strength from the internal ones. It looks great and is super solid!

Typhoon® is a stylish yet functional half-round profile which has excellent capacity and flow characteristics. It’s available in a range of colours with matching RP80® downpipes from the Stratus Design Series®; Grey Friars®, Ironsand®, Black, Copper and Titanium. Also, the well known and loved, white range.

Check out the stunning pool and pool house which was here already when Ed bought the home. It has however been refurbished and is a great asset in the summertime.

Not a bad view from beside the pool also + some furry friends as company – what an absolute dream life to be had here!

Ed and family are over the moon with their home and have future plans for more expansion to finish it off exactly as they hope. This home definitely doesn’t look like a 100-year-old property anymore!

A roomy rebuild in Onehunga

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Louise and Eugene Barry bought their quaint Onehunga, Auckland home in November 2009 when the house was only 112 square metres for 4 bedrooms! But the central location, being close to Cornwall Park and motorways, and the warm and friendly community made up for the size.

With a growing family they simply needed more space, so it was either move or create a larger home on the same site. They opted for the rebuild to increase the size to 270 square metres. Every single interior wall from the existing structure was removed to accommodate the new floor plan. The work took around 8 months.

For the cladding they opted for timber weatherboards which are painted in Resene Silver Chalice with Arctic White joinery.

The roof is Colorsteel® in Grey Friars which works perfectly with the Marley Stormcloud® spouting and RP80® downpipes also in Grey Friars® from the Stratus Design Series®

The Stormcloud® quarter-round profile has clean, strong lines which fit in with the modern yet classic styling. Marley Stratus Design Series® has a 15-year guarantee and excellent UV resistance.

A lot of effort went into ensuring the home was well insulated including Viridian ComfortPlus, a leading Low E performance laminate, for the double-glazed windows.

The interior of the home has a neutral base palette, painted throughout in Resene Black White for walls and ceiling and Resene colour matched Arctic White for architraves and skirting.

The kitchen was designed by Moda Kitchens and the cabinetry is Acrylic soft touch from Laminex which is an anti-fingerprint material. Like so many other homes, their beautiful kitchen is the hub, so the central island lends itself perfectly to being able to still interact with the rest of the family whilst cooking or baking.

Louise and Eugene specifically designed the kitchen with storage in mind and the butler’s pantry is perfect to hide away any clutter (and the craft beer fridge too!). The bookshelves on the front of the island, and on either end of the overhead cabinets, add a nice yet practical feature.

The bathrooms in their home are stunning, with dark grey concrete look tiles utilised with white and timber. Under-tile heating and recessed shelving in the showers was a must, plus mitred edges on tiles throughout added to the lovely finishing.

David Trubridge lights and custom-made oak slats are featured in the central stairwell which is the first thing you see when you open the front door – simply gorgeous!

Louise, Eugene and their two little ones are loving their roomy rebuild, and the peace of mind they have from future proofing with quality products such as the Marley Stratus Design Series®. Great work you guys!

Beside the Seaside, Whitianga

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Undisturbed sea views across Buffalo Beach and Mercury Bay attracted Richard and Hannah to buy this Whitianga property in 2018. Stacks of potential for the family home of their dreams! No wonder it won Gold in the Auckland, Northland & Coromandel region of the Registered Master Builders House of the Year competition.

With 20+ years in the building game, Richard (HAMR Home Building Contractors) had a strong idea of what he wanted to build to replace the 1950’s dwelling and take full advantage of the location.

He picked up his pencil and drafted plans for a spacious two-storey home. Designs were developed alongside Studio 77 Ltd and a 9-month build followed.

Now that it’s a reality, the family are even more delighted with the location than they had expected. The extraordinary views are a stand-out from almost anywhere in the house.

Bright and spacious living

From the open plan kitchen/dining/living area, high stud ceilings and huge windows flood the room with natural light and frame the view. They open out to a substantial deck built using FSC certified Kwila with a frameless glass balustrade for a seamless view.

Sliding doors from the living area also open wide to an internal deck with louvre roof for shelter from the elements if needed. Good old kiwi BBQs no matter what the weather.

The furniture throughout is stylish, yet comfortable and inviting, meaning there are lots of spaces to relax and enjoy balmy Coromandel summers. Come winter, they can tuck themselves in with the usual features to keep in the warmth: double-glazed windows, heat pumps and Hotwire electric underfloor heating in the tiled areas.

Family kitchen with entertaining in mind

Our whole family enjoy cooking together and we love entertaining, so we needed a large kitchen to do that.

The island is solid oak – which is mainly used as a servery. The benchtops are pure black granite, with a honed finish – plenty of space to work in. The high ceilings, low hanging pendant lights and red stools at the breakfast bar create a very inviting space.

A walk-in pantry allows the small appliances to be handy without cluttering up the main kitchen. All hardware is Blum soft-close, and Blum Tandembox drawers give a quality touch in everyday use.

A striking exterior

A mix of cedar weatherboards and plastered AAC panel gives a clean-lined, solid appearance. The dark stain of the cedar (Wood-X Foundry oil) against the lighter colour of the plaster in Dulux Whakarewarewa contrast perfectly. Not to mention the choice of black Marley Stormcloud® spouting to frame the whole exterior and connect it to the roof.

As builders we try and specify cedar into all of our houses, if we can. In fact, virtually wherever you stand inside, all you can see is the warmth of timber when looking out

Built to endure the elements

Living just a stone’s throw from the beach, Marley Stratus Design Series® was an obvious choice for the spouting and downpipes.

Being beachfront we don’t have to worry about corrosion or rusting. We specify Stratus Design Series® in almost all the houses we build.

The Stormcloud® spouting profile was chosen for its clean, simple lines. The black colour discreetly ties in with the window framing and True Oak® Corrugate roofing.

Marley RP80® downpipes complete the system and offer the same 15 year guarantee as all products in the Stratus Design Series®.

An escape for the kids

A self-contained area downstairs was designed with their three growing girls in mind. A comfortable place they can retreat to, so they can all have privacy as they get older.
No queues for the bathroom! The kid’s bathroom is built in three parts: the vanity in one room, toilet in the next and bath/shower in another. The vanity has three sets of drawers — one for each daughter.

Future-proofed

The Warwicks had the foresight to prepare for the future. The house has been pre-wired for solar panels to be installed on the roof at a later date. A dedicated circuit in the garage allows for a charging point for an electric vehicle.

A mixture of tropical and native plants, suitably fitting for the coastal location, will develop and grow over the years to come. Many years that the family will be loving their seaside lifestyle, we’re sure!

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