Creativity meets cost-effectiveness in this three-bedroom family home on Kāpiti Coast. Designed for a stylish young couple, the 164sqm house on an elevated wedgeshaped corner site dispels the notion that budget inevitably means boring. It gets off to a cracking start with dark macrocarpa bevel-back timber with random battens, and a boardwalk-style entry. Intriguing angles and a playful mix of vertical and horizontal cladding make the point that when it comes to ingenuity, this project goes above and beyond. It also shows that top-drawer craftsmanship is not tied to expensive homes and that a relatively small footprint can yield big results. As well as the three bedrooms, the sunny house has a study, two bathrooms and a garage. The kitchen, in white and wood tones and with a tiled splashback, has a scullery; in the main bedroom, a walk-in wardrobe is tucked behind a deep-green panelled feature wall. Other embellishments include a barn-style sliding door in the lounge, a tongue and- groove feature wall in the ensuite and a window seat in the dining room. Concrete floors in the kitchen-dining zone are practical and sleek. With no neighbours on one side, the owners can fling open sliders and step onto private decks and a patio.