Pinnacle of Perfection

Seventeen years ago Wendy and Graham Cooper were visiting Nelson from their home in Auckland when they spied a section on the Tahuna hills that took their breath away. With expansive views across Tasman Bay to the mountains beyond, it was too good an opportunity to pass up, particularly as Wendy had always wanted to return to her home town when the couple’s work commitments in the north ended.

Two years ago they made the move. “We met Paul and Melissa Richards from Contemporary Homes during a show-home visit and instantly fell in love with their work”, says Wendy. “We could tell that their houses were different. They had beautiful clean lines, interesting use of materials and there was an amazing attention to detail”.

“We were quite specific in what we wanted”, she says. “First up was a warm home with indoor/outdoor flow that showed off the wonderful views wherever possible. It had to be a great place for entertaining while having calm, private areas that we could relax in”.

With twenty-five years in the engineering and construction business, Paul Richards has a passion for designing houses and creating “dream homes” for clients and he and Melissa were delighted to be asked to undertake the design and build for the Coopers.

What followed was a seamless process. “They were fantastic to work with”, says Wendy. “We always felt they listened to everything we said and took it on board while Paul, with his wealth of experience, contributed brilliant ideas we hadn’t thought of”.

From the road the home takes your breath away. With its clean lines and soft, honey-coloured Abodo eco-timber vertical cladding, it nestles comfortably amongst the landscaped rocks and grasses reminiscent of the South Island’s expanses of tundra.

At 236sqm the home feels much larger thanks to the way the expansive glass walls on the northern side open completely onto a large entertaining area, complete with spa.

There is not a heat pump in sight courtesy of the passive heating created by the large window areas and polished concrete floors that help retain heat. A hydronic underfloor heating system keeps the house at an even temperature throughout colder months, giving it a luxurious feeling. A superb design and practical feature are petite vertical narrow wooden shutters that provide excellent ventilation whenever it is needed. The gas fire is simply for ambience.

The kitchen has all elements perfectly integrated seamlessly with everything easily within reach. Both cooktop and sink are placed on the central island. “It means we don’t have our back to guests when we are cooking and can still enjoy the views at the same time”, says Wendy. The sink is a very stylish black eco granite and the use of the light honeyed timber for the breakfast bar provides a warm and inviting contrast while providing a link to the exterior cladding.

Timber joinery by Ruby Bay Joinery is a feature throughout the house with cabinetry and wardrobes built in. This creates a beautiful flow that draws the design together from room to room. There are clever touches like the swivel wall light behind the beds and carefully considered future-proofing such as the large sliding doors and wide hallway.

The bathrooms are simple and elegant. The master features a luxurious bathtub, his and her hand basins and a double head shower while utilising the warm timber-finish joinery as elsewhere.

This certainly is a house to relax in, not least because of one of the couple’s favourite spaces. Wendy and Graham were keen to have an office, third bedroom and media room and Paul cleverly designed a space that is the three-in-one. “This room was a surprise and went beyond our expectations”, says Graham. “It is not something we would have thought of but it is so comfortable that we spend a great deal of our time in it”.

The laundry has been cleverly positioned in the middle of the house directly behind the kitchen wall. Wendy laughs when she says, “Our taste is minimalistic but Paul suggested we needed a pop of colour somewhere and introduced us to the splashback behind the bench which is made up bright and sunny glass tiles in red, orange and yellow. He was absolutely right and with the skylights above they just glow”.

The second bedroom is very private and opens to its own courtyard, perfect for when guests come to stay.

The build took ten months and the Coopers were blown away when they walked in and saw it finished. “It is truly a house for all seasons”, says Wendy. “It is beautiful, comfortable, everything we asked for and more”. “It was really emotional handing it over and a few tears were shed”, says Melissa. “We put our heart and souls into our builds and it is such a joy to work with people on bringing their house dreams to life”.