Houzz Tours
Houzz Tour: An Alpine Bach for All Seasons
A well-designed home in a spa town surrounded by forest provides the perfect tree change for a young family
The town of Hanmer Springs, 90 minutes north of Christchurch, is a captivating place surrounded by mountains and forests. The tourist brochures boast of crisp alpine air, thermal pools for soaking in, spa pampering and more lovely restaurants and shops than you’d expect in such a small town, one with a permanent population of just under 1,000.
These many attributes are what drew creative couple Ben and Olivia Reid to the town when they left the big city for a quieter, calmer life. They bought a tree-lined block of land to build their new home on, drawn to a site because it had the perfect combination of wide open spaces and lush woodlands on the reserve next door. All it needed was a well-designed house to fit in with its surroundings and to become the family’s new home.
These many attributes are what drew creative couple Ben and Olivia Reid to the town when they left the big city for a quieter, calmer life. They bought a tree-lined block of land to build their new home on, drawn to a site because it had the perfect combination of wide open spaces and lush woodlands on the reserve next door. All it needed was a well-designed house to fit in with its surroundings and to become the family’s new home.
While the section was modest for a country town – 614 square metres – Brady had to bear in mind that other houses could potentially be built next door. However, the best views of mountains were to the north, and the bush 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 neighbours. The Reids had bought the section because it abutted some of their favourite 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 brief.
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 neighbours. The Reids had bought the section because it abutted some of their favourite 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 brief.
Brady says that 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 literal – as well as figurative – heart of the house, and the entrance opens right into this space, making the kitchen seem larger. It is the circulation point for the house, so space was not wasted on lobbies or passages. 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’ brief for passive solar gain, helped by double glazing, 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 30-plus-degree summers, 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 30-plus-degree summers, 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 though, as the dividing wall between the two garages is non-structural. The soffit overhang, picked out in crisp white against the cedar siding, and a quirky off-centre 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, as he wanted plenty of wall space to hang his work.
Giant bluestone stepping stones 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 holiday style the Reids were after. A dropped ceiling over the kitchen gives it intimacy, while ceilings over the dining room and living rooms soar.
Apart from the retro-styled vintage 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 of storage to keep clutter hidden. Seen behind one them is a door that leads into the children’s bedrooms and bathrooms, both child-sized. Olivia had always loved Hawkes Bay-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 fittings: Homebase Collections
Light fittings: Homebase Collections
Brady and the Reids continued the mixed material 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 timber yard Musgroves eventually sourced a hoard from the ceiling of an old house. The couple used American oak for the island bench.
Cabinet joinery: Timber Tru; tiles: Next Dore
Cabinet joinery: Timber Tru; tiles: Next Dore
The sitting room was divided into two zones, separated by a framed glass cavity slider and acoustic glass in the pitch of the ceiling. In this way, the deliberate rhythm of the dramatic trusses could be seen from the front to the back of the room, but rowdy rugby-viewing in the back TV room didn’t impact on the more contemplative sitting room and fireplace.
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 matt 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 matt 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 timber 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 fittings: David Trubridge; Fare-box woodburner: Woodsman
Jute herringbone carpet: Artisan Flooring; light fittings: David Trubridge; Fare-box woodburner: Woodsman
In the master bedroom retreat, tucked behind its secret door, 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 colour into the predominantly natural and neutral palette of materials.
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 was 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.
Happy Hour basin and Grohe Essence basin mixer: Chesters; tessellated floor tiles: European Ceramics
Happy Hour basin and Grohe Essence basin mixer: Chesters; tessellated floor tiles: 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 baches – a bit added here, another wing there, built over time with whatever materials were at hand.
The backyard is the family’s favourite place to hang out in the summer, with the forest only metres away for cycling and running.
The backyard is the family’s favourite place to hang out in the summer, with the forest only metres 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 favourite paths and trails in the forest. Their bach home has given them the lifestyle they dreamed of when they moved to this country town.
TELL US
Would you live in a holiday town? What do you love about this house? Tell us in the Comments section.
TELL US
Would you live in a holiday town? What do you love about this house? Tell us in the Comments section.
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: Approximately 190 square metres; 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a studio
Architectural Designer: Ben Brady, Linetype Architectural
Builder: Wayne Paget, Paget Construction
Kitchen and bathroom joinery: Tony van der Plas, Timber Tru
The pair’s brief to architectural designer Ben Brady was to eke out of their modest budget a versatile and well-detailed space. Having left Christchurch to live in the holiday town, the couple wanted a bach-like feel for their new house, with a view to turning it into a holiday rental if they ever moved back to the big city.
Bluestone paving: Urban Paving