Pastoral delight
This rural idyll is close enough to town for a cafe-culture ramble at weekends, writes Rosalind Le Bas Walker.
SET INTO a tranquil hillside landscape over four levels, Steve and Jo Pugh’s dream home was just what they ordered.
‘‘We love the sun so our home’s position is what we enjoy most; completely north facing with all the rooms except the bathrooms and laundry enjoying all-day sun,’’ says mother-of-two Jo.
The family has loved the home’s warmth and practicality since they moved in seven years ago.
The couple commissioned Edwards White Architects to design a house that fitted onto their peaceful pasture in the rural area of Maungakawa. It is 10 minutes’ drive north of Cambridge but close enough for the couple to walk their dog to the English-style town’s cafes for a tasty weekend brunch.
Board and batten cladding gives a modern look to the 2005-built home.
Keen entertainers, another prerequisite for the design was for year-round entertaining spaces.
‘‘The kitchen is a dream to work and entertain in and the whole house is easy to keep clean,’’ says Jo.
The indoor-outdoor dining room easily fits the family’s three-metre long table. Off the lounge, the sheltered outdoor deck is used year-round as a dining area, and stacker doors fold right back for good air flow without the wind.
Hardwood floors from the Solomon Islands provide a rich base throughout, while Expol insulation, batts and triple glazing do a good job of retaining the plentiful solar heating.
‘‘Privately set on the top level, the master bedroom was designed to capture the morning sun.
‘‘It comes through our top window and cleverly hits our mirror wardrobes and fills the room with sun,’’ Steve explains.
This bedroom was designed to be quite separate from the others. All bedrooms are wired for Sky TV, phone and data cable.
Steve and Jo love their nightly dip in the hot tub surrounded by native plantings, where they can watch the magnificent night sky.
As well as being a suntrap, the house was positioned to capture the peaceful elevated Maungakawa vista.
‘‘These views will never be built out and our land which we so enjoy is peat so is likely to always remain as farmland,’’ says Steve.
The property’s two paddocks have water, electric fencing and a gate system to easily transfer stock from one to the other.
Jo and her husband have been delighted with the design of the house. ‘‘It works great for us. The only reason we are selling is we are in another stage of our life with an empty nest. We love Maungakawa and have bought a section across the road and will use the same architects to design another fabulous home for just the two of us this time.’’