Whanarua Bay Home

The Dickie family brought this piece of paradise with the dream of building a special holiday home for their growing family.  

Built in a very remote location on the East Cape it is surrounded by native bush. Timber was used both inside and out to accommodate the Owners love of trees and wood and enable the house to nestle easily into the environment around it.

The property has a fresh yet rustic appearance with fresh white walls and ceilings set off beautifully by cedar joinery and oak flooring for a timeless look and feel.

Meticulous craftsmanship was required due to the amount of wood throughout the house and included a handcrafted bathroom, handcrafted windows and doors and special detailing on the ceilings.

Unique Features:

• Built 300 kilometers from Taupo with no cell phone coverage meant planning was paramount.
• The Craftsmen lived on site Monday-Friday only returning home for the weekends in Taupo with their families
• Trees that were removed for the build were milled and used in the kitchen. Due to the length of time required for the drying process a temporary kitchen was installed.
• To give he ceilings a textured finish they been installed using the reverse side facing out.  Joins have been covered using rough sawn battens. 
• Bathroom joinery has been handcrafted to ensure the same quality and use of natural products was followed through to every aspect of the house.
• External cladding and all doors and windows are cedar.
• Interior walls have been painted for a fresh appearance but are a combination of Shadowclad Pine and Okumu Plywood.  Extra large freeze boards have been used to give the house a timeless look and feel.
• Oak flooring has been used throughout the house. It was oiled to look as natural as possible and natural knots in the wood were left relatively untouched to give it a rustic/recycled look.
• Being built near a fault line meant that 78 piles with an average depth of 2.7m were required for GeoTech requirements
• Building materials including backfill and concrete had to travel long distances to get to site – detailed planning and research was done to find local suppliers to keep costs down. 
• Lights were placed on a nearby giant Pohutukawa to highlight the surroundings at nighttime.