Houzz Tour: A Compact Alpine Retreat for All Seasons
A new home bordered by forest in a New Zealand spa town becomes a happy launching pad for an active family
The town of Hanmer Springs, New Zealand, 90 minutes north of Christchurch, is a captivating place surrounded by mountains and forests. The tourist brochures boast of crisp alpine air, thermal soaking pools, spas, and more lovely restaurants and shops than you’d expect to find in a town with a permanent population of just under 1,000.
These many attributes are what attracted creative couple Ben and Olivia Reid when they left the big city for a quieter, calmer life. They bought a tree-lined lot, drawn to the site because it had the perfect combination of open space and lush woodland on the reserve next door. All it needed was a well-designed house to fit in with its surroundings and become the family’s new home.
These many attributes are what attracted creative couple Ben and Olivia Reid when they left the big city for a quieter, calmer life. They bought a tree-lined lot, drawn to the site because it had the perfect combination of open space and lush woodland on the reserve next door. All it needed was a well-designed house to fit in with its surroundings and become the family’s new home.
Brady had to bear in mind that other houses could potentially be built next door. The best views of mountains were to the north, and the wooded area the couple loved so much was to the east, meaning they got a “borrowed landscape” that makes the property feel much larger.
By breaking the house into two wings joined by the kitchen, and rotating the bedroom wing and garage off square, Brady allowed the views to be framed, while retaining a sense of privacy from any future neighbors. The Reids had bought the land because it abutted some of their favorite cycling trails in the Hanmer Heritage Forest and Dog Stream Reserve, so opening up their backyard to “their” park was a key part of the plan.
By breaking the house into two wings joined by the kitchen, and rotating the bedroom wing and garage off square, Brady allowed the views to be framed, while retaining a sense of privacy from any future neighbors. The Reids had bought the land because it abutted some of their favorite cycling trails in the Hanmer Heritage Forest and Dog Stream Reserve, so opening up their backyard to “their” park was a key part of the plan.
Brady says he relishes projects that stretch his creativity, and the Reids’ request required a lot of work to come in under budget. By skewing the two wings, Brady created a more generous central core for the house. He placed the kitchen as the heart of the house, and the entrance opens into this space, making the kitchen seem larger. It is the circulation point for the house, so space was not wasted on entries or hallways. The only corridor is to the garage, via the kids’ bedrooms.
Since the best sun exposure and views were on the street side of the site, Brady recessed the living wing of the house as far back as he could. Glass doors and a clerestory in the gable met the Reids’ request for passive solar gain, helped by double-paned glass as well as extra-thick insulation in the walls and under the slab floor. The bow-shaped deck was a playful touch: It echoes the shape of the 35-degree gables, suggesting a drawbridge dropped down at the front of the house.
The region experiences extreme alpine weather, with snowy winters and summer temperatures in the high 80s (30-plus degrees Celsius), as well as high winds. With these conditions in mind, Brady designed the wings to shelter each other from the prevailing winds and then inserted openings to allow cross-ventilation. He used simple 35-degree gables to keep the form modest in scale, connected by a flat roof on the kitchen and the master bedroom.
The region experiences extreme alpine weather, with snowy winters and summer temperatures in the high 80s (30-plus degrees Celsius), as well as high winds. With these conditions in mind, Brady designed the wings to shelter each other from the prevailing winds and then inserted openings to allow cross-ventilation. He used simple 35-degree gables to keep the form modest in scale, connected by a flat roof on the kitchen and the master bedroom.
Brady deliberately made a feature of the gable at the end of the garage, as this was designed for Ben’s printmaking studio. It could still serve as a second garage for future owners, however, since the dividing wall between the two garages is nonstructural. The soffit overhang, picked out in crisp white against the cedar siding, and a quirky off-center window provide an enticing welcome to the house.
With the garage door cranked open, Ben can work with the mountains in sight — Mount Isobel and Jacks Pass, and the St. James Cycle Trail, one of New Zealand’s great rides. Ben stipulated no more windows, though, since he wanted plenty of wall space to hang his work.
Giant bluestone steppingstones in the grass to the side of the garage-studio deliver visitors right up to the kitchen. The doors can be left open all summer, adding to the casual vacation style the Reids were after. A dropped ceiling over the kitchen gives it intimacy, while ceilings over the dining and living rooms soar.
Apart from the Smeg fridge, appliances are tucked out of sight from visitors as they enter the kitchen.
The dining room, in the second gabled wing, has more cabinetry walls to keep clutter hidden. Seen in the back is a door that leads to the children’s bedrooms and bathrooms.
Olivia had always loved New Zealand-based artist Leanne Culy’s work, and she knew that her punched and dip-painted metal light fittings would be perfect for the dining area. A friend made the white ash dining table, and original artworks were added to the interior.
Light fixtures: Homebase Collections
Olivia had always loved New Zealand-based artist Leanne Culy’s work, and she knew that her punched and dip-painted metal light fittings would be perfect for the dining area. A friend made the white ash dining table, and original artworks were added to the interior.
Light fixtures: Homebase Collections
Brady and the Reids continued the mixed-materials palette with the kitchen cabinetry, blending poplar plywood and white lacquer. They also collaborated closely on the details, specifying hand-painted finishes on the glossy cabinets to add another layer. Olivia had quite a search for the recycled rimu used for the floors, and Christchurch wood yard Musgroves eventually obtained a hoard from the ceiling of an old house. The couple used American oak for the island countertop.
Cabinetry: Timber Tru; tiles: Next Dore
Cabinetry: Timber Tru; tiles: Next Dore
The sitting room is divided into two zones, separated by a framed glass pocket door and acoustic glass in the pitch of the ceiling. This allows the deliberate rhythm of the dramatic trusses to be seen from the front to the back of the room, but keeps rowdy rugby viewing in the back TV room from affecting more contemplative activities in the sitting room.
A door in the corner leads to the master bedroom’s “secret suite,” deliberately designed to be secluded from the rest of the house.
Brady’s detailing of the finishes mixes plywood with gloss and matte white. He points out that having high ceilings makes a small footprint seem much airier, as the volume compensates for the closer-together walls.
Bluestone hearth: Urban Paving
A door in the corner leads to the master bedroom’s “secret suite,” deliberately designed to be secluded from the rest of the house.
Brady’s detailing of the finishes mixes plywood with gloss and matte white. He points out that having high ceilings makes a small footprint seem much airier, as the volume compensates for the closer-together walls.
Bluestone hearth: Urban Paving
Olivia and Ben were delighted with the fine details Brady added, such as the wood detailing, secret door to the master bedroom and mix of materials. It wasn’t just the couple who loved the house: Judges from the 2016 ADNZ Resene Architectural Design Awards awarded this first-time entrant a regional prize for interiors.
Jute herringbone carpet: Artisan Flooring; light fixtures: David Trubridge; wood-burning stove: Woodsman
Jute herringbone carpet: Artisan Flooring; light fixtures: David Trubridge; wood-burning stove: Woodsman
In the master bedroom retreat, Olivia added another Leanne Culy piece, her pegboard cabinet. One of Ben’s prints hangs above. The Reids have made extensive use of Ben’s prints throughout the house, bringing subtle injections of color into the predominantly natural and neutral palette.
Cabinet: Homebase Collections; “Know the Price of Everything and the Value of Nothing” artwork: Ben Reid
Cabinet: Homebase Collections; “Know the Price of Everything and the Value of Nothing” artwork: Ben Reid
The bathroom vanity is made from a piece of solid American oak. Olivia combined multiple shades of an earthy green to create the tessellated floor pattern in the children’s bathroom.
Sink: Chester’s Plumbing and Bathroom Centre; Essence faucet: Grohe; floor tile: European Ceramics
Sink: Chester’s Plumbing and Bathroom Centre; Essence faucet: Grohe; floor tile: European Ceramics
In the main bathroom, Olivia selected timeless Spanish encaustic tiles for impact.
Tiles: Metro Floor
Tiles: Metro Floor
From the back of the house, you can see the first gabled pavilion of the dining room on the left; the flat roof of the master bedroom abutting the main living room pavilion is on the right. To keep the gable scales modest, Brady used lean-tos for the service rooms off the bedroom corridor, in a dark corrugated iron, and contrasted the bedroom “box” with horizontal cedar cladding. This switch in materials suggests the style and evolution of Kiwi vacation houses — a bit added here, another wing there, built over time with whatever materials were at hand.
The backyard is the family’s favorite place to hang out in the summer, with the forest only steps away for cycling and running.
The backyard is the family’s favorite place to hang out in the summer, with the forest only steps away for cycling and running.
Olivia and Ben have found that the house works for them year-round. In winter, they use the dry front yard; in summer, it’s the east-facing backyard that draws them into their favorite paths and trails in the forest. Their home has given them the lifestyle they dreamed of when they moved to this country town.
Builder: Wayne Paget of Paget Construction
Kitchen and bathroom cabinetry: Tony van der Plas of Timber Tru
Builder: Wayne Paget of Paget Construction
Kitchen and bathroom cabinetry: Tony van der Plas of Timber Tru
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Olivia Reid, a photographer and yoga teacher; Ben Reid, a print and mixed-media artist; and their kids, Bella, 5, and Austin, 3
Location: Hanmer Springs, Canterbury, New Zealand
Size: About 2,045 square feet (190 square meters); four bedrooms, two bathrooms and a studio
Budget: About $39,9080 (NZ$550,000)
Designer: Ben Brady of Linetype Architectural
The pair’s directive to architectural designer Ben Brady was to eke out of their modest budget a small, versatile and well-detailed space, rather than a big, bland house. Having left Christchurch to live in the resort town, the couple wanted their new house to feel like a vacation home, with a view to turning it into a short-term rental if they ever moved back to the city.
Bluestone paving: Urban Paving