In the limelight
The plan was for this new Rangiora home to be a standout and, as both homeowner and builder, Elliott Dale of Daleco Built knew exactly how to achieve it
WORDS Cassie Doherty PHOTOGRAPHY Veronica Wedlake
This is the second house that Elliott Dale has built for himself. This time, he had some ideas about what worked and what he wanted to upgrade. And, of course, as owner of Daleco Built construction firm in Rangiora, he also had a wealth of experience to draw on.
He makes the build seem like a breeze.
“I’m pretty good at making decisions. I find something I like and I go for it. I can just picture it in my head before it happens.”
Elliott says this new-build is a natural progression. “It was time to keep moving – onwards and upwards. This house was always going to be bigger and a bit more designed. I started by drawing out a rough idea of what I wanted onto grid paper, and I went to an architect from there. It was developed and changed until here it is now.”
And what he has is a three-bedroom home with two lounges and two bathrooms, that he shares with partner Ayla Wilson-Bairds and their white Swiss shepherd Winston.
The two forms of the house are linked by a glass walkway, so the bedrooms are separate from the public areas. It is a house built for socialising, with plenty of decking options.
“It has good covered areas and we do a lot of entertaining, especially in summer,” says Elliott. “But the second lounge is my sports room. There’s a bifold door to the deck and all the lads can come around and watch the UFC or the rugby.”
There’s a 75-inch TV in here, and integrated speakers inside and out that are controlled with a phone app. Elliott’s office also tucks away behind alcove doors.
Some elements in this house were a given, such as the concrete benches poured on-site. “I did that in my first house as sort of a tester. We changed it up a lot and poured quite a full-on kitchen bench and concrete hearth. They’re a big feature of the house.”
Other parts of the house, despite Elliott’s planning, were more of a surprise. The kitchen cabinetry is in a matt Kombu Green finish by Dezignatek from Sockburn Joinery. “I just saw it and loved it,” says Elliott.
He came across the home’s exterior render at the last minute – Resene Integra with Rockcote Cerano finish – and liked the concrete look.
“I hadn’t used it before and I was definitely keen on making the house stand out.” Alongside it is Abodo timber that is intended to weather to a pale silver, making for a bold but minimalist style. Drama comes from a standalone fin wall with the letterbox, an oversized house number and a large sliding shutter for a front window.
Cabinetry and benchtops in the kitchen, pantry, laundry and bathroom were all designed by Sockburn Joinery, which works on residential and commercial projects all over New Zealand. The green cabinetry in the kitchen is Kombu Green by Designatek in a Milan Square profile panel.
Elliott has been building for more than a decade, and started Daleco Built around four years ago. Rather than feeling like he was taking his work home, Elliott enjoyed building his own home in between projects. “It did seem to take longer than doing a client’s build,” he says. “Entering the Registered Master Builders House of the Year awards definitely helped get it finished.”
The house scooped a few accolades, including Regional Category Winner for Canterbury and Top 100 National Award.
The kitchen is not the only touch of green. Elliott and Ayla chose all the internal finishes and decor themselves with airy greens, board-and-batten finishes and whimsical wallpapers softening the industrial elements. The large barn door in the main living area was custom made from pine and painted by Ayla with a rust effect, as were the ceiling beams.
As the homeowner as well as the builder, Elliott customised the house to the way he wanted to live. There is three-car garaging, for example. There’s a glass- fronted beer fridge in the scullery, and a fun concealed doorway to the sports lounge.
Alongside the timber cladding is a Resene Integra render with Rockcote Cerano finish applied by Evolution Exterior Plastering. The render was a last-minute decision by the homeowner, and he could not be happier with the result.
His long experience means he’s also taken care of all the practical considerations too, that some homeowners might overlook, such as careful placement of power outlets, switches, skylights and more. Functionality is evident everywhere.
One aspect of a build that he considers vital is good lighting. “I believe that one of the best things you can do for your house is the feature lighting. One hundred per cent.”
That attention to detail can be seen in the exterior entry, where strip lighting and the Abodo timber cladding both carry on up and over across the ceiling. In fact, all the Abodo cladding has hidden fixings, so there’s not a nail in sight.
So he’s created a house that exactly suits his life and style right now. “We’re really happy with how it turned out,” he says.
But he’s not one to sit around. Will there be another build for himself in the future?
“Yes,” he says, “there will be.”
Easy and breezy
The idea in this new-build was for easy-care flooring with a beachy feel. Flooring Xtra Rangioravsupplied and installed Okiwi Bay carpet in Stone and Xpert Pro Moray laminate in Buckie. The laminate is certified low-emission and produced from sustainable materials. It has a waterproof surface, so can be used throughout, even in the laundry, and homeowner Elliott Dale is a fan of the pale colour. The cut pile twist carpet is solution-dyed nylon – a very hard-wearing option for a house with a dog.
Flooring Xtra Rangiora flooringxtra.co.nz
Involved in this project
BUILDER
Daleco Built
027 307 9834
WINDOW JOINERY
First Windows & Doors
03 375 0700
firstwindows.co.nz
FLOORING
Flooring Xtra Rangiora
03 313 8415
flooringxtra.co.nz
EXTERIOR PLASTER CLADDING
Resene Construction Systems
Evolution Exterior Plastering
027 956 9477
reseneconstruction.co.nz
JOINERY
Sockburn Joinery
03 342 6044
sbj.co.nz
