The desire for a slower pace of life led one family to Wānaka, where Chilton and Mayne Architecture and Smitheram’s Building created them a home to match the grandeur of the views.

WORDS Shelley Sweeney PHOTOGRAPHY Marina Matthews

After several years of living in the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquakes, Steph and Darren decided to move their family further south. “Life in Christchurch became logistically challenging after the quakes,” says Darren, “with many roads closed or tricky to drive on. Getting around with the kids to all of their sports activities was a time-consuming challenge.”

When Darren was offered a transfer to Wanaka with work, the outdoors-loving family leapt at the chance for a change of pace. They rented a friend’s holiday home when they arrived and continued to rent long-term while they looked for a section to buy.

Steph and Darren were the first to buy one of five sections in a new subdivision and chose the one with the highest elevation to make the most of the incredible views of Cardrona Valley, Mt Roy, Treble Cone ski field, Mt Aspiring and Lake Wanaka. Darren was determined to maximise the views with his design, and instead of choosing the flattest area of the section to build on, he set the home on the highest point possible.

They found designer David Chilton from Chilton and Mayne Architecture through a friend in Ashburton. The builder, Hayden Smitheram from Smitheram’s Building, was a friend of Steph’s who had moved there ten years earlier. Hayden says, “We had known each other years ago, then met again when our children were going to the same school in Wanaka.”

Through his previous experience in the building industry, Darren was able to draft his own concept plans in a simple self-design. When it came to presenting his design, Darren was inspired by watching his kids playing Minecraft and, with some advice from his children, created a home design within the game. A builder friend of Darren’s helped him to get the correct scale for each room in the plans. Darren then took the Minecraft plan to David at Chilton and Mayne Architecture, who was blown away and said he had seen many homemade plans before, but never one that had been drafted in a game.

Hayden says, “The house is essentially a series of boxes or blocks, with cantilevered boxes on the level above – an ideal design for Minecraft.”

David worked with Darren’s concept plans to design a modern, contemporary family home that maximised the site and captured the sun and views. “All living areas and outdoor spaces experience the wonderful views overlooking Wanaka,” says David.

Hayden says, “The build started out as a basic house with trusses and standard frames but evolved into a more complex proposition with steel portals and a flat roof with glass insulation.” Hayden met with David to amend the plans for Steph and Darren’s more ambitious brief.

“Once we were able to settle on the basic form of the building we then worked through the exterior materials palette. Darren and Steph were keen on the cedar and stone and we bounced the idea of using ACM panel for the first floor as this would give the building a great aesthetic complementing the natural materials,” says David.

“When flattening out the roof structure, space for insulation to the ceiling became a real issue, again we went to Darren and Steph with a low pitch warm roof option, which, at the time was not all that common. Darren and Steph could see the benefits: and the fact that it meant we could flatten out the roof structure and keep it as thin as we have, made them all the more happy.”

STATEMENT STONE The schist cladding from Southern Stone Masons connects the home with its environment.

Essentials for Darren in the build were to have a large main garage and a second garage on the side of the house for his boat. Having a warm home was essential, and that brief has been met with ducted heat pumps upstairs and down as well as a gas fire and a Stovax wood fire.

Construction consisted of flat concrete slabs on different levels and a lot of steel bolted onto timber. The upstairs decks were cantilevered and required some complex engineering, with large steel beams. The most impressive deck is the one off the master bedroom which looks straight out over the lake. Hayden says, “The build went pretty smoothly; the biggest challenge was with the flat roof and getting the services in, such as the ducted heating.”

The exterior of the home blends well with its natural environment with cedar weatherboard, schist walls and aluminium soffits. “This beautifully crafted house uses a mixture of materials from the stone cladding that helps ground it to the site and the use of a lighter vertical cedar cladding to complement the stone,” says David. “Cantilevered balconies and rooflines give the house a sense of the first floor floating above the site and connecting with the surrounding environment.”

Hayden and the team built two garden sheds to match the style of the house. “Another great feature,” says Hayden, “is the way the decking meets the grass at the top of the hill, which was levelled off to create this effect.”

For Hayden, the standout area of the home is the outdoor space with a sunken spa pool that overlooks the lake with spectacular views. Another clever feature is in the showers. Instead of tiling the shower walls, Darren created the marble look by having it printed onto sheets of glass. The shower walls have the look of tiles with the easy-clean functionality of glass that, much like a fish tank, doesn’t leak.

Hayden says, “Steph and Darren work well together as a team. They’re great at making decisions and had a similar vision for the home. While Darren was more involved in the overall design of the home, Steph undertook all of the interior work on her own and has done a spectacular job.”

Steph baked a delicious carrot cake for Hayden and the team every week, while Darren put on a regular barbecue for the workers. “You don’t often see that level of appreciation these days,” says Hayden. “They made us feel like part of the family.” When the build was finished, Steph and Darren presented Hayden with a very generous gift, a Williamswarn BrewMaster kit.

Steph, Darren and their two teenagers love the outdoor lifestyle in Wanaka and have no regrets with the move. “The whole family enjoys skiing and tramping, and it’s a safe place for the kids to grow up,” says Darren. The family is delighted with their new home, and Darren and Steph are currently working on plans for an infinity pool – yet another outstanding feature to help them take in some of the best views in Wanaka.