Grand Scale Brick Renovation

Looking at this stunning home in its idyllic rural setting on the outskirts of Tauranga it's hard to believe that, until recently, a very different style of home sat on the property. The original home was a rather non-descript brick and tile box – not at all what owners, Gary and Natalie had in mind as their family dream home.

“It was a case of the wrong house on the right piece of land,” says Gary.  “We bought it knowing that we had a major renovation job on our hands!”

That, perhaps, is something of an understatement. The house was gutted. The brick was stripped from the walls and the tiles from the roof, the roof was raised and a second storey added. In fact only the garage and one bathroom were retained.

“We definitely wanted weatherboard and we wanted a traditional style house with a big shady verandah,” says Gary.

Architect, Brendon Gordon worked closely with Gary and Natalie to design a home that fitted the rural landscape and looked is as if it had always been there.  “I recommended Linea Weatherboard because it's a low maintenance product that creates a very authentic shadowline that's indistinguishable from timber. It's a great product,” says Brendon

The Linea® Weatherboard has been painted in crisp white Resene Merino, with Resene New Denim Blue used on the roof, the trim and the vertical baseboards. The effect is a very clean traditional look.

The upper storey features a large curved bay window, with a simple, but very dramatic vertically detailed gable end which works well with the strong horizontal lines of the Linea.

The wide verandah and eaves help to give the home its unique character. The verandah is decked in kwila, with a white country-style handrailing.
“I wanted to create an easy flow from the interior living spaces out to the verandah, with just two steps down to the grounds,” says Brendon. “The previous house had no connection to the surrounding landscape. Now the home feels as if it belongs here.”

Read more articles related to this story:

• Reborn! From brick box to award-winner - read about a dramatic makeover which changes new into old
• Interior design and detailing
• Builders profile - Peter Robertson

 

PRODUCTS USED

Linea Weatherboard by James Hardie