At ground level, the cedar front door is punctuated inside and out with over-sized handles, organically shaped ebonised forms crafted from fallen pōhutukawa by a friend of the owners on Kawau Island. Inside, the circulation area features internal access to a double garage, as well as to a platform lift – a future-proofing measure – that connects all three levels of the house. (For now, the owners use the stairs.) The first flight, to the living space on the second floor, features solid treads; the next flight, from the living space to the main bedroom and ensuite, has floating treads, allowing natural light to filter through. Disguised LED lighting on the underside of the staircase handrail provides subtle illumination.

Warm timber provides rich texture throughout. Gaboon plywood shelving and cabinetry in the main living space and kitchen sweeps around to line the walls of the stairwell, spanning all three levels. It also appears in the scullery and laundry space, and lines the deep window recesses in the living area. “We had to be strategic about the positioning of windows to direct the view to glimpses of Hobson Bay and Ōrākei, without compromising privacy,” Cameron says.

The second living space is a cosy den with built-in seating and bookshelves. “We wanted a crafted feel here and adding textures and tactile materials enhances the sense of the handmade,” the architect says. The upholstery in the den is a soothing green, complemented by corner windows that look out to native planting behind the house and borrowed views of neighbours’ mature trees. Next to the den is a moody, dark green bathroom and the home’s second bedroom. 

Flooring in the den is ceramic tile over a concrete base, providing passive heat retention. The den and adjacent glazed circulation space, with its wide eave overhang, flow to an afternoon terrace. A morning terrace is located to the east. Balustrades on both are in vertical Abodo. “I like the way it relates to the vertical weatherboards,” says the architect. “There’s an open feeling to the balustrades, but the curved way they’re configured gives varying degrees of transparency.”

The owners say they are thrilled with Cameron’s design. For one thing, it fulfills their wish for seamless flow between inside and out. “It was really important to us to be directly connected to the native planting from our indoor living spaces. We have a home perfect for two people, but equally perfect to entertain a large group in,” one of them says.

On the top level is the main bedroom and ensuite, which is light and airy in contrast to the bathroom downstairs. An adjoining balcony looks over Hobson Bay and up to the top tier of the section, where a potager garden produces abundant vegetables. The patch is accessed via a boardwalk off the morning terrace and steps on the hillside. “We did toy with putting a bridge from this bedroom to the garden,” says Cameron, “but decided against it.” Irrigation to the garden comes courtesy of a storm-water collection tank tucked under the afternoon terrace. Solar panels on the roof of the main bedroom provide all the energy the house needs, with extra going back into the grid. Provision has been made for surplus energy to be stored in a battery in the future – indicative of the thought, care and consideration the owners and architect have invested in this home.

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