Twice the style
The team from Nathan Cook Builders had their work cut out delivering two beautiful homes on this prime Fendalton site, and the experienced team rose to the challenge with stunning results.
WORDS Anna Scaife PHOTOGRAPHY Sarah Rowlands
For the owners of this impressive pair of homes, Paul and Anita, the move to Fendalton was driven by two key lifestyle factors. With two children at high school in the city and one more at intermediate, living near the schools and the kids’ friends made perfect sense. Also, their previous home was located on a large block of land, and the couple found the workload that went along with the extra space was eating into their time. The move has served to simplify travel arrangements, free up leisure time, and adapt to the changing needs of a family with teenagers.
The brief to Nathan Cook Builders was to build a five-bedroom family home plus a second house at the rear of the section to be sold. There was a lot to be done, and owner Paul says, “There was not one aspect of the build that Nathan’s team weren’t involved in. They did all the hard landscaping, and they were there at every step of the project.”
Nathan Cook’s philosophy has always been to build strong relationships with his clients based on trust and transparency, and this remains his point of difference. He says, “We are not a housing company; we encourage people to come to the site. My job is to make sure that my clients enjoy the process of building.”
LOOKS AND PRACTICALITY Dream kitchens were created with careful attention to detail from Hagley Kitchens.
The intelligent design of these two-storey homes utilises a relatively small footprint to create easy, comfortable living spaces and includes five bedrooms and four bathrooms in each. The open plan kitchen, dining and lounge convert to more intimate, cosy rooms with the addition of a cavity slider to separate off the lounge.
In both homes, the kitchens are definite standouts and marry superb practicality with stunning good looks. The joinery in the kitchens and extensive built-in storage and joinery throughout the homes was manufactured and installed by award-winning Canterbury-based joinery firm, Hagley Kitchens. Hagley Kitchens’ projects feature careful attention to detail and top-quality fixtures and finishes. The team works closely with its clients to help turn their ideas for their home into a reality.
With the homeowners heavily involved and enthusiastic about the process, adjustments did come up throughout the project. Nathan Cook says he enjoys the process of finding solutions with clients as a project progresses. Sometimes that means pulling out all the stops to make things happen, and he believes that if a change needs to be made to improve the outcome, then it’s well worth it.
ZONED FOR ENTERTAINING These gracious homes feature private, sheltered zones for cooking and dining.
The interiors feature a cohesive palette of whites and greys with timber accents creating a calming atmosphere indoors. Carefully selected elegant feature tiling and wallpapers in the bathrooms add an air of luxury and demonstrate the owners’ eye for detail. Bringing their skill and experience to the delivery of the décor, Hawke Paint completed all of the interior painting and installed the intricately patterned wallpapers to the feature walls. The painting firm has been in business for over 20 years and is highly regarded in the industry. Nicola from Hawke Paint says, “We were proud to support Nathan Cook Builders on this stunning build.”
Behind the scenes and instrumental to the delivery were plumbing subcontractors Inline Plumbing who completed the plumbing and gas fitting work. The team are known for their reliability and quality workmanship and frequently work alongside Nathan Cook Builders. Johnny Gardner from Inline says, “We enjoy working with Nathan and the team as they always deliver to a very high standard.”
The bespoke nature of the design called for custom glazing and Hunter Glass supplied the frameless showers, bar splash-backs and the glass balustrades for the stairwells.
SHELTER FROM THE ELEMENTS This versatile outdoor room keeps guests sheltered from the elements all year round.
“The glass combined with black chrome hardware complements the other beautiful finishes in the home perfectly; the owners clear vision made our job easy,” says Grant of Hunter Glass. “We have worked with Nathan Cook Builders for a number of years and this build was another exciting project to be part of.”
The landscaping and outdoor living areas make the most of the space, creating private sheltered zones for cooking and dining, relaxing on the deck, or swimming in the in-ground pool from Compass Pools. The outdoor seating area includes a motorised louvre roof from Louvre Solutions, extending the kitchen and dining area into the outdoors and providing protection from the elements. The company also supplied and installed manually operated louvres on windows to provide privacy and shade. The louvres offer a stylish addition to the exterior look and offer durability, strength and weather resistance.
SERENE AND CLEAN Tiles in natural tones blend with the monochromatic basin, bath and vanity, for a calm, spa-like feel.
Paul and Anita chose a Cerano plaster finish on the exterior walls which was expertly applied by Perfection Plasterers. Managing Director Kurt says, “The Cerano is a modern Italian finish which gives the exterior walls the look of concrete.” Perfection Plasterers specialise in high-spec finishes and takes pride in their reputation for producing excellent results.
Now settled in their home, the family are thoroughly enjoying the change of pace the new location has afforded them, as well as the joy of living in a house designed just for them. Paul enjoyed the whole process and says this is not his first home build, and it likely won’t be his last. That enthusiasm is in large part due to the success of the collaboration with Nathan Cook Builders, and Paul sings their praises.
“I came to site a lot, and I can’t remember ever coming here and seeing anyone standing around,” he says. “There was always movement and action. It was also always clean and tidy. I think you can always tell the quality of a builder by the way they leave the site.”
Nathan says that plain old good manners go a long way in his business and that being polite and courteous to the neighbours and communicating with them is crucial. In this case, his team have done jobs for the residents of both neighbouring properties. A very good sign that they have made quite an impression.
Paul said he was impressed with the subcontractors who all worked to the same standard as the builders, and mucked in when it was needed to make sure things went smoothly. The tricky site access meant they needed all hands on deck to offload deliveries and get supplies out of the rain, and Nathan says nothing was a problem. “It was the culture of the guys on the whole team that made this build go so well. It’s a great result for Paul and Anita to have the home they dreamed of.”
SOAK OR SWIM This ideal outdoor setting gets an extra helping of entertainment heaven with the addition of a spa and pool area.
INVOLVED IN THIS PROJECT
BUILDER
Nathan Cook Builders Ltd 03 347 7356
nathancookbuilders.co.nz
JOINERY
Hagley Kitchens 03 961 0966
hagleykitchens.co.nz
LOUVRES
Louvre Solutions 027 535 6286
louvresolutions.co.nz
GLAZING/BALUSTRADES
Hunter Glass 021 230 9101
hunterglass.co.nz
PLUMBER
Inline Plumbing Ltd 0508 4 INLINE
inlineplumbing.co.nz
PAINTER
Hawke Paint 027 892 0114
hawkepaint.co.nz
EXTERIOR PLASTERERS
Perfection Plasterers NZ Ltd 021 047 5287
perfectionplasterers.co.nz
SWIMMING POOL
Compass Pools 0800 766 562
compasspools.co.nz
