From an earthquake damaged home to a beautiful new Jennian Home – the homeowners and builders of this riverside residence have created a home that is built to last.

WORDS Kathy Catton PHOTOGRAPHY Mick Stevenson

One of the most important decisions you have to make when building a home is who to choose as your builder. For Jen and Anthony Butler, it didn’t take them long to choose Jennian Homes Canterbury for their job.

The couple moved into a property on this spacious wooded section, close to Riccarton Bush and the central city over eight years ago. They loved the fact that it was full of greenery and close to the city, yet just a kilometre away from where Anthony grew up and where his parents still live. But their original 1930s house turned out to be badly earthquake damaged and beyond the expected repair and renovation project.

“We love the space and the stream and all the trees around us,” says Jen. “But we had several years of uncertainty with the original house.” After a lot of time spent with lawyers and EQC, it was agreed that the house would be demolished. “This meant we were able to build a home to suit the way we live,” says Jen. “We wanted to recreate the feel of the original family home that would last for decades, but with modern styling and materials.”

EFFORTLESS ENTERTAINING The kitchen doors and panels in Stone Grey with a soft touch finish, granite benchtops, and floating shelving in Resene Half Rice Cake from Trends Kitchens set the scene for effortless entertaining.

In conducting their research for a new home, the couple spoke with various building companies, independent builders and architects. “It very quickly became obvious to us that Jennian Homes really listened to what we wanted in our family home. They were so flexible in working with us for a custom design and build,” says Jen.

Familiar with working with first home builders, Eric Briggs, Jennian Homes Canterbury new home consultant, guided the couple through the whole build process along with Dwayne Prendergast, Jennian Homes Canterbury co-owner, proficiently leading the homeowners through the pre-build consent processes.

It was this ability to custom design a home that really spoke to the couple. Dwayne highlights that the image of being a ‘click and plan’ standard build company is far from a standard reality.

“Our strength is in our design and project management skills,” says Dwayne. “And because we’ve been in the building trade for several decades, we’ve seen all the possible problems and know how to solve them. We have also aligned ourselves to great partners, so we can give some security around building products and materials.”

The couple wanted to retain some of the features of the original home, such as the window seat and the flow out towards the river. There was also the existing swimming pool and garden to consider. Eric was an essential part of the process and “was absolutely brilliant,” say Jen and Anthony.

it was important to keep that original park-like-feel

“We wanted the house to feel spacious and relaxed. We wanted it to be family-friendly with different areas for people to enjoy,” says Jen. “We love having friends and family over, and we also wanted plenty of outdoor living. It was important to keep that original park-like feel. Also, we wanted the home to be durable and relatively low maintenance.”

All of these features and more were included in the design brief, and Jennian Homes delivered on all of them. The result is a home with well-connected spaces that flow well and are practical for living in. The four-bedroom property has a home office and all the modern features such as a ducted heat pump, solar heating for the pool, and a server cupboard with wired home networking and fibre to specific locations of the house.

The homeowners were impressed by how the team at Jennian Homes listened to their needs. This crystal-clear focus on the client is a number one priority for Dwayne and his team.

“Our expertise and knowledge helped get the house designed and through the consent application process as quickly as possible,” says Dwayne. “Jen and Anthony have a busy family, and our project managers are used to this.” As a result, the Jennian Homes project managers fit their meetings with clients around their needs – whether that’s early mornings or weekends. “You’ve got to be flexible nowadays,” says Dwayne. “We understand every contract is completely different, and that’s what makes it enjoyable for our team and us.”

From the outside, the home has a traditional look and feel with a Rockcote exterior and linear oblique James Hardie cladding. The schist entranceway exudes a sense of solidity, craftsmanship and cosiness.

CRISP CLADDNG The smooth white Rockcote plaster exterior from Resene Construction Systems gives the exterior of the home a fresh, contemporary feel.

The custom build went incredibly smoothly, and the couple is delighted with the result. “I love the indoor-outdoor flow and the relationship to the river, the sun and the outdoors,” says Anthony. Jen agrees, saying, “I love how relaxed it feels, and the kitchen is next level! After years of leaking windows and a cold, damp old house, this new light and warm home is bliss.”

Melanie Bloom at Brackenridge and Bloom Design enabled the couple to realise their style and create a theme of colours and materials throughout the home. “I’m really happy with all the textures and colours we’ve chosen,” says Jen.

From understanding Jen and Anthony’s wants and needs, to providing innovative design solutions and delivering the entire interior project, Brackenridge and Bloom Design took all the steps necessary to create a home filled with the style and elegance the couple wanted.

FINE FLOORING The light oak flooring from Nextdore brings a relaxed warmth to the interior.

“The most important thing to me is that when I leave a job, the homeowners feel like they have had ownership over the design and I just helped them pull it together,” says Melanie.

The beautifully engineered stone kitchen benchtop is the centrepiece of the kitchen and acts as a focal point for family and friends when entertaining or dining together.

“We can honestly say that Jennian Homes were amazing to work with and would happily recommend them to anyone (we’ve already been doing so!). When it came to the build itself, Paul Jenkins, the construction manager and co-owner, was incredibly organised and we always knew exactly what was happening and when. He was really efficient in organising the subcontractors, which ensured things moved along at a cracking pace,” says Jen.

With no significant challenges along the way, this house build was seamless. Jen and Anthony, are now revelling in their beautiful home while enjoying their easy commute by bike to work and their close proximity to the family and the city. It’s a house to call home for many years to come, thanks to the hard work and expertise of Jennian Homes Canterbury.