There was a dodgy white bach on this Waikanae section when the owner bought it a few years back. Living in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland at the time, she had plans to retire to the seaside town but knew from the get-go it wouldn’t be into that rickety crib. “Sure, it needs work,” began the real-estate listing. Parts of the roof were held in place by duct tape, and it harboured a hearty dose of asbestos. With the help of architect Andrew Sexton, they set out to devise a new plan.
Nixing the old bach, they knew that any new design would still need to capture the site’s coastal essence. Set a few streets from the water in a coveted area known as Olde Beach, the property and its surroundings have a low-key, relaxed charm. It’s the kind of place where fences are hip-height, driveways are grass, and boats park up on the berm. “She didn’t want to ruin that with some black rectangle or a generic residential home,” says Sexton. “The home couldn’t be ostentatious and needed lots of light, informal living, easy indoor-outdoor flow, and privacy – without a tall fence.”
The architect initially explored a two-storey design, hoping to capture a view out to nearby Kāpiti Island, but the resulting ocean glimpse didn’t justify the work or the cost. As this was to be a forever home, a single-level layout made more sense and allowed a freedom of design unhindered by resale considerations. That meant it could have just two bedrooms, minimal internal doors, and consideration for art and objects collected throughout the client’s travels. “It was really to become her sanctuary,” says Sexton.
Wrapped in two profiles of lusitanica (a close relative of macrocarpa), the design demonstrates the architect’s preference for using natural materials in their natural state. Most of the cladding is comprised of thick, short boards that run in horizontal bands around the home with visible nail heads. The slimmer, vertical timber profile is used as a feature, predominantly in sliding screens and entrances. “I always say we use materials that wear in over time, rather than wear out,” says Sexton, who credits the team from Pinnacle Construction for the immaculate finish. Strictly speaking, the timber is a rainscreen that lies over plywood cladding. This allows the window detailing and parapets to sit flush on the home, eliminating the need for large, distracting flashings.
Timber accents carry inside, complementing polished concrete floors and natural, texture-rich tiles. The other key material is light. Sun tracks through the home in step with daily life. It rises in the main bedroom, circles to the craft room by mid-morning, the kitchen by lunch, and sets out by the pool. Deep overhangs limit direct sun in summer and capture it come winter. “It’s just about trying to create atmosphere,” says Sexton. “And it’s nice that the client will still send us photos of shadows dancing across different spots in the home.” The deliberate lack of internal doors allows the sun to seep from one space into another, generously aided by light pouring in through clerestory windows in the central pop-top roof.
While the bulk of the house features a standard, budget-friendly 2.4-metre stud, the architect has added some theatre with this roofline. Almost four metres high, it brings volume and light to the dining area; select windows in the pop-up open to aid ventilation. It’s an astute balancing act by Sexton. If the entire home employed the same soaring ceiling, it would have risked feeling cavernous, and compromised the budget. But used sparingly in this central thoroughfare, it’s an effective break from the norm.
Keen to avoid the familiar open-plan layout of kitchen, dining and living area in one large room, they settled instead on spaces that flow freely into one another while retaining their own purpose and definition. There’s also a conscious effort to blend the inside and outside. Floor-to-ceiling glazing atones for the abandoned sea views, capturing vignettes out to the garden and through the house. “I see the house as more of a series of rooms that are collected together. Some are indoors, some are outdoors,” Sexton explains.
The two outdoor rooms serve unique purposes. The first is open to the elements, akin to a Japanese courtyard with an elegant lone tree. Facing northeast, the calm, sunny spot feeds out from the dining room. It also features a thick timber screen that slides across for protection from the wind and allows the owner to lock up the house securely. The second is more insular, tucked under cover as an alfresco extension of the kitchen. A slim skylight that runs along the kitchen’s southern wall continues outside over this barbecue area, making the two spaces feel one and the same. Warmed by the outdoor fire, it spills out to a dining area, pool and backyard.
Unlike many of the neighbouring properties, this beach home is a permanent residence. A lifetime of collected artworks and experiences exist here, with sculptures drawn into the plans and paintings framed in perfectly proportioned recesses. It pairs contemporary and innovative design with the casual charm of Olde Beach. A large pōhutakawa still signposts the entrance, and the grass driveway down the side of the home is gradually being etched by tyre marks. Only these days, an angular Corten steel wall blocks any view of this thoroughfare from inside the house. The chunky steel form also obscures views into the home from the street, fulfilling that final request for privacy. And not a full-height fence in sight.
1. Garage
2. Entrance
3. Mud Room
4. Bathroom
5. Bedroom
6. Ensuite
7. Craft Room
8. Snug
9. Kitchen
10. Dining
11. Courtyard
12. Living
13. Outdoor Room
14. Lawn
15. Pool
16. Pool Shed
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