It was love at first sight when Steven and Ingrid discovered the section on which they would build their dream home.

Situated adjacent to a large reserve on Lake Taupō’s Wharewaka Point, the land offered world-class views of the iconic lake, the pristine deep blue water only a stone’s throw away.

Inspired by the opportunities it presented – due to its lifestyle block size and its location – Steven and Ingrid wanted a home that could complement the section and showcase a style of design never before seen in the area.

While Steven is an experienced builder, having been the Landmark Homes Taupo and Hawke’s Bay franchisee for eight years, the couple opted to use a Landmark Homes Ready to Build plan as their starting point – but coincidentally titled Lakeside.

Spacious yet intimate, the Lakeside was the perfect balance of classic style and size. The plan was designed to optimise new ways of living and dining, with high sloped ceilings with rustic exposed trusses. The Landmark designers retained the familiarity of a more traditional home through considered entranceways, a walk-in scullery and sizeable bedrooms.

With the site dictating the orientation of the home, and Steven and Ingrid’s growing family a consideration for years to come, the couple worked closely with Landmark Homes to customise the Lakeside Ready to Build plan. They developed a home that was truly unique to them and how they wanted to experience life in their Landmark.

To capture the lakefront views from the master suite, Landmark redesigned the floor plan to position the main bedroom adjacent to the living room. They also upsized and incorporated a third bathroom and altered the study space to create a roomy fourth bedroom.

With Steven and Ingrid wanting to entertain in their new home without ever feeling disconnected from any of the social spaces, Landmark Homes cleverly manipulated the living areas, expanding the open plan living arrangement to create one continuous area encompassing kitchen, dining, family room and lounge.

“Having a home that would offer good indoor-outdoor flow was important, so that when the house is in full use there is a continuity between the rooms and the world outside, a real blend of space that lends itself to entertaining and family time,” Steven remarks.

To fine tune this impressive design, large sliding exterior doors that retract into a wall cavity were incorporated for an uninterrupted experience of the lake views. Once open, a stunning timber deck under a louvered pergola is revealed – the perfect place to relax, unwind and watch the sun set over the lake.

With two children under two, Steven and Ingrid wanted to utilise materials that were functional and economical without compromising on the quality or design. As such, HardieGroove was used throughout the home as both an aesthetic feature and a hard-wearing, waterproof material in the bathroom space.

Before moving in with their family, Steve and Ingrid used their home as a Landmark showhome and on hearing comments from visiting future home builders over the years, the couple fully realised they had created something truly iconic.

“Our Lakeside is not your everyday house – everyone who came to see it was blown away.”

It wasn’t just the public who took notice, with the judges at the Registered Master Builder House of the Year Awards selecting Lakeside for a regional category (showhome) award and a gold overall in the Bay of Plenty/Central Plateau region.

They were also recipients of a Gold Reserve Finalist award, securing them a spot in the national awards as one of the top 100 homes in New Zealand.

Having now been both constructor and client, Steven acknowledges how experiencing the journey with Landmark gave him a greater appreciation for their robust home build process and the flexibility that choosing a Ready to Build plan offers.

“Often, when faced with so many decisions, you can think, ‘Where do I start?’, but selecting a Ready to Build plan that has been architecturally inspired gave us a great place to start and adapt from there to suit our needs.

“We both had ideas around what we wanted to achieve, and with the Landmark team we were able to bounce these ideas around to get the home we wanted.

“Having someone saying, ‘Yes, that works’ or ‘Here’s a few options, have you considered these?’ is really helpful and gives you peace of mind that you’ve thought out every option along the way.”