Houzz Tours
Houzz Tour: A Country Home With New Zealand Barn Style
An architect sculpts a modern shed-style house for a couple seeking a home that sits comfortably on the land
A chance invitation to an art opening at a sculptor’s barn set the design of this country house in motion. Megan and Ron Redel loved the barn and later tracked down the sculptor-architect for help in designing a barnlike home that would sit comfortably in the New Zealand landscape.
“I’m really a strong believer in the barn as an iconic piece of New Zealand architecture,” Wilson says. “From when I was very young, I’ve always loved farm buildings; in that respect, I’m a bit of a one-trick pony.”
Hardly. Wilson’s recent projects include refurbishments at the Waitangi treaty grounds, Kerikeri’s stone store (New Zealand’s oldest stone building) and Rotorua’s famous Te Puia Maori arts and crafts center. Wilson’s fascination is with the structures that early settlers, both Maori and pakeha (non-Maori), built on the land — a simple, basic format that he refines and refines.
For the Redels, he took the form of a working shed and turned it into a finely detailed home. Wilson, who is part Italian and part Maori, acknowledges the influence of both Italian architecture and the engineering of an original Maori building, or whare, which he has researched at length.
Hardly. Wilson’s recent projects include refurbishments at the Waitangi treaty grounds, Kerikeri’s stone store (New Zealand’s oldest stone building) and Rotorua’s famous Te Puia Maori arts and crafts center. Wilson’s fascination is with the structures that early settlers, both Maori and pakeha (non-Maori), built on the land — a simple, basic format that he refines and refines.
For the Redels, he took the form of a working shed and turned it into a finely detailed home. Wilson, who is part Italian and part Maori, acknowledges the influence of both Italian architecture and the engineering of an original Maori building, or whare, which he has researched at length.
The site was very broad, so Wilson stretched the barn into one long structure that runs east to west across the land. He likes to use an offset gable, rather than a symmetrical one, to get a lot more flexibility in the mezzanine and loft spaces.
He used roughly 10-foot modules of steel in the building, which gave flexibility to the space. The house is simply organized, with living spaces at the right, bedrooms and bathrooms on the left, and a mezzanine loft for overflow guests and the rumpus room.
He used roughly 10-foot modules of steel in the building, which gave flexibility to the space. The house is simply organized, with living spaces at the right, bedrooms and bathrooms on the left, and a mezzanine loft for overflow guests and the rumpus room.
Nick Smith of Smith Construction says the construction method and a lot of the materials were new to his team, but they loved the challenge. “The idea was a semi-industrial barn where you see the bones,” Smith says. “When you do that, it’s a lot more work, there’s no place to hide, there’s lots of detail.” He points out that applying wood to steel is tricky because the materials move and settle at different rates. Lining ceilings, up to almost 16½ feet at the highest, with birch ply was exacting work that took two craftsmen a month.
Wilson specified cedar on the living side of the barn, a more industrial siding on the street side, and a natural, unobtrusive tile for the roof.
Wilson specified cedar on the living side of the barn, a more industrial siding on the street side, and a natural, unobtrusive tile for the roof.
The Redels, who have built and renovated many houses here and in the U.K., were keen to create the sort of entry lobby common in English country houses, with lots of room to stash boots and coats. Megan wanted the kitchen to then be revealed in the great room space, so she worked with a craftsperson to create the custom cabinetry from birch ply. Sliding doors at the entry open to slim cabinets that back on to the kitchen.
The clients, Smith and Wilson were all heavily involved in the design decisions through the build, enjoying one another’s contributions to the creative process. Wilson kept the trusses exposed in the main living area, refining his barn lights with proper skylights that flood the entry and kitchen with year-round sun. The Redels specified a simple palette of finishes — polished concrete floors, charcoal-gray cabinets and stainless steel.
Skull painting: Flox
Skull painting: Flox
Megan admits that she had to abandon plans to reuse a secondhand kitchen she’d kept in storage for over a year, as she soon realized that a clean and simple box with an industrial kitchen table would work better in the large space. Smith built the rustic dining table and benches with vintage wood from an old Dutch cheese safe, sourced from antiques store Vitrine.
The craftsperson also built a custom stainless steel range hood to avoid a big flue spoiling the lines of the ceiling and roof trusses. The corridor leads to the ground-floor bedrooms and bathrooms, with a staircase to the mezzanine loft.
The Redels collected many of the light fittings and finishes as the building took shape.
The planning period took six months; then there was a lot of preparation work to resolve drainage issues with the sloping site.
While they waited for the steel trusses to be fabricated by Parahaki Engineering, the couple began planting and gardening projects. The huge spans were designed to be bolted together on-site.
The planning period took six months; then there was a lot of preparation work to resolve drainage issues with the sloping site.
While they waited for the steel trusses to be fabricated by Parahaki Engineering, the couple began planting and gardening projects. The huge spans were designed to be bolted together on-site.
Ron brought most of the furnishings from the shop, including the classic Scandanavian String shelving, lighting, rugs and the large-scale painting. The leather chair is vintage, brought back from London.
Although the house is insulated and double-glazed, as well as oriented for passive-solar gain in the winter and shade in the summer, the Redels were keen to enjoy the warmth of a wood stove. The concrete window bench was formed on-site by Smith’s team.
Rug, lighting and accessories: Bob and Friends; wood stove: Kent Murchison via Bunnings
Rug, lighting and accessories: Bob and Friends; wood stove: Kent Murchison via Bunnings
The bedrooms are simple and unadorned, with the focus on the views of the countryside that so attracted the Redels to the area.
Wilson added bench seats outside the east-facing bedrooms so that owners or guests can start their day sitting in the sun. “Those early mornings, engaging with the sun, you can just swing the window open and sit there to greet the new day,” he says.
The bedrooms have the same minimal palette, warmed by ceilings of birch ply. Megan is passionate about monogrammed French linen sheets, converting them to curtains as well as using them on the beds.
The mezzanine level is very much for the kids of the family and friends, Megan says. The space is finished in more ply, with simple rugs and furnishings.
Skylights frame views of the surrounding farms.
Megan tracked down the encaustic tiles for the bathrooms to add a punch of pattern.
Tiles: Tile Space
A Dozen Ways to Work In Patterned Tile
Tiles: Tile Space
A Dozen Ways to Work In Patterned Tile
“Like most of our projects, the clients are heavily involved; that’s how we work in these high designs,” Smith says. “We want it to be an enjoyable process, for them to be free to make decisions, and we end up friends.”
Since moving in, the Redels have worked on the garden, creating simple outdoor spaces and converting the former pasture into a wildflower lawn. “This is perfect, absolutely perfect,” Megan says. “It is so wonderful to live in.”
More: World of Design: 14 Award-Winning Australian Homes
More: World of Design: 14 Award-Winning Australian Homes
Who lives here: Megan and Ron Redel, owners of Bob and Friends
Size: 2,368 square feet (220 square meters); three bedrooms, two bathrooms
Location: Mangawhai, north of Auckland, New Zealand
Designer: Carin Wilson of Studio Pasifika
Having found a suitable piece of land (“I bought the land while Ron was away,” Megan says), the couple set about designing a home based on the simple structure they’d seen and loved at Carin Wilson’s Studio Pasifika, north of Auckland. The first step was driving up to take another look.
“Ron remembered going to Wilson’s barn and had always loved the shape,” Megan says. Wilson hadn’t thought of himself as a designer; “he thought he was a sculptor,” she says. Wilson’s barn was simpler than they had in mind — a real working man’s cave — so they asked Wilson whether he could create a barn that looks more like a home.