Designed with affordable, easy living in mind, the Taranaki is “a home that anyone would walk in and want to live in” says Nikki Jones, Landmark Taranaki’s New Home Consultant.

And that is exactly the point.

Based on the popular Ballad ‘Ready to Build’ Plan, with a few minor alterations, this was the second Showhome that Landmark Taranaki and interior designer Megan Ekdahl developed together.

The house is designed to show that you can have your own Landmark – complete with quality fittings, architectural design, stunning interior and exterior – without an oversized budget.

“We consider the Ballad one of our go-to plans, and we love it for the Taranaki area,” says Nikki.

Designed to capture the sun, with a layout that works well on plenty of sections, it’s perfect for a professional couple, retirees or a first family home – offering 3-bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a double garage.

Some minor alterations were made to the original plan – increasing the footprint by 8m² to create a larger and more spacious family room. Yet despite the still modest 187.6m² footprint, there are not one but two living areas for relaxing and entertaining, a master bedroom with large ensuite and walk-in wardrobe, and even an office space to accommodate a work-from-home scenario.

This is a compact, smartly designed home that offers a lot of functionality without ever feeling crowded!

The interior design has been carefully considered, too. When it came to the styling, “we wanted this one to be airier, lighter and less boundary-pushing than a Showhome would normally be…but by no means boring.”

Rather, the team wanted to create an inviting space that visitors feel they could move into immediately – and the result is a very neutral and organic, classic-styled home that you could come into with any style of furniture, whether modern or antiques, and it would work beautifully.

“Anyone would come go there and see themselves living in it, very happily,” says Nikki.

The colour of the walls and fittings are warm and welcoming – with tones like honey, warm white, and beige, and materials like oak and brushed nickel. And where the living rooms of the home are painted a soft off-white, the bedrooms are painted a darker tone to create more restful feel.

When you consider the home as a whole, picture classic, timeless, sun-soaked easy-living.

The living, dining and kitchen area are north facing so perfectly primed to capture the daytime sun, and the two sets of glass doors to the deck offer wonderful indoor-outdoor flow. Parquet flooring lends the kitchen and dining areas a striking textural finish, while helping to make the space feel even bigger.

These honey-coloured Rhino Evercore brand planks not only look fantastic, but it was also an innovative new product that we were the first to use and will fade in sunshine far less than any other brand currently on the market.

Just like the living area, the master bedroom opens onto the deck, with the bedroom wing positioned to offer shelter from the wind…so you can sip your morning coffee in comfort!

With wrap-around decking for lounging, dining and entertaining in the sunshine and easy-care planting, you can enjoy the peaceful setting without having to spend time doing maintenance. A white pergola out front provides sun protection and adds to the street appeal of the house (while giving a place for fragrant Star Jasmine to grow).

With its traditional weatherboard-clad exterior, classic styling, easy-living design, and accessible price-point, this is a design guaranteed to steal hearts.