The hope was to correct the assumption that Landmark only builds sprawling 300m² homes, which may feel out of reach for some prospective clients. “Yes, we do that, but that’s certainly not all we build!” 

Just a five-minute stroll over sand dunes from the beach. Built on a 596m² section with roads on three sides, the site posed the challenge of a sufficient setback from the street while keeping the house single-storey and the footprint interesting. “We didn’t want to just build a rectangular home,” says Alan.

The result is a 195.6m² H-shaped home with three bedrooms, two bathrooms including a master ensuite, and a double garage.

While it was designed with family life in mind, anyone would love living here! True to our intentions, the house showcases innovative ways to build a beautiful home on a smaller budget – all while offering a relaxed Kiwi way of life.

As you enter, you turn right into your living areas and left to access the bedrooms and bathrooms.

Sun streams in through large windows in the open-plan central living space, which comes complete with a contemporary kitchen, open-plan dining and lounge area, and an adjacent media room.

Both spaces boast a generous raked ceiling, built with a scissor truss rather than a beam-and-rafter ceiling. “We’ve created a wonderful sense of spaciousness, at a more affordable cost,” says Alan.

Though it may appear compact at first glance, the kitchen connects to a 3m long scullery behind it, where more cabinets and work benches are hidden from sight.

The kitchen also features a sliding-glass splashback that opens up the scullery to the rest of the house. If you’re prepping food, you can pull back the splashback and still be part of the conversation. It’s a clever addition that ensures a sense of connection isn’t sacrificed in the pursuit of minimising mess.

Finally, Pukeko vinyl planking in the kitchen brings warmth to the already-sunny central living space, feels cosy underfoot, and gives a high-end feel at a lower cost than hardwood flooring.

Light was carefully considered throughout, with Velux skylights in the main living area and a sun tunnel in the hallway, keeping a bright, airy ambience abundant.

A comfortably sized master bedroom opens onto a paved courtyard – a serene spot for sipping a morning coffee – and boasts southerly river views, a generous walk-in wardrobe, and luxurious ensuite bathroom.

The team designed the two bathrooms to showcase different options: a tile shower in the master ensuite and an acrylic shower in the family bathroom.

“The acrylic shower works out to about $3K less than the tile shower,” explains Alan, “so while the tiled shower looks spectacular, the acrylic shower is an option if you want to keep the cost of your build down – and it still looks great.”