Houzz Tour: Country Home Inspired by the Iconic NZ Barn
A designer sculpts a modern country home for a couple set on living in a barn
A chance invitation to an art opening at sculptor Carin Wilson’s Studio Pasifika barn near Mangawhai, north of Auckland, set in train the design of a couple’s own country house. Megan and Ron Redel, who run design and furniture company Bob and Friends on Auckland’s Ponsonby Road, tracked down Wilson to help design their home and assembled a team that understood their vision for a classic barn that sits comfortably in the New Zealand landscape.
“I’m really a strong believer in the barn as an iconic piece of New Zealand architecture,” says Wilson. “From when I was very young I’ve always loved farm buildings; in that respect, I’m a bit of a one-trick pony!”
Hardly. Wilson’s recent projects include refurbishments at the Waitangi treaty grounds, the Kerikeri stone store (New Zealand’s oldest building) and Rotorua’s famous Te Puia Maori Arts and Crafts centre. Wilson’s fascination is with the structures early settlers built on the land – both Maori and Pakeha – a simple, basic format that he refines and refines.
For the Redels he took the form of a working shed and turned it into a finely detailed home. Part-Italian and part-Maori, he acknowledges the classical influence of both Palladio and the engineering of original Maori whare, which he has researched at length.
Hardly. Wilson’s recent projects include refurbishments at the Waitangi treaty grounds, the Kerikeri stone store (New Zealand’s oldest building) and Rotorua’s famous Te Puia Maori Arts and Crafts centre. Wilson’s fascination is with the structures early settlers built on the land – both Maori and Pakeha – a simple, basic format that he refines and refines.
For the Redels he took the form of a working shed and turned it into a finely detailed home. Part-Italian and part-Maori, he acknowledges the classical influence of both Palladio and the engineering of original Maori whare, which he has researched at length.
The site was very broad, so Wilson stretched the barn into one long structure that runs east to west across the land. He likes to use an offset gable, rather than a symmetrical one, to get a lot more flexibility in the mezzanine and loft spaces.
The architect worked with three-metre modules of steel through the building, which gave flexibility to the space. The house is simply organised, with living spaces at the right, bedrooms and bathrooms on the left, and a mezzanine loft for overflow guests and the rumpus room.
The architect worked with three-metre modules of steel through the building, which gave flexibility to the space. The house is simply organised, with living spaces at the right, bedrooms and bathrooms on the left, and a mezzanine loft for overflow guests and the rumpus room.
Builder Nick Smith says the construction method and a lot of the materials were new to his team, but they loved the challenge. “The idea was a semi-industrial barn where you see the bones,” Smith says. “When you do that, it’s a lot more work, there’s no place to hide, there’s lots of detail.” He points out that applying timber to steel is tricky because the materials move and settle at different rates. Lining ceilings, up to five metres at the highest, with birch ply was exacting work that took two craftsmen a month.
Wilson specified cedar on the living side of the barn, a more industrial siding on the street side, and a natural, unobtrusive tile for the roof.
Wilson specified cedar on the living side of the barn, a more industrial siding on the street side, and a natural, unobtrusive tile for the roof.
Megan and Ron, who have built and renovated many houses here and in the UK, were keen to create the sort of entry lobby common in English country houses, with lots of room to stash boots and coats. Megan wanted the kitchen to then be revealed in the great room space, so worked with a joiner to create the custom cabinetry from birch ply. Sliding doors at the entry open to slim cupboards that back on to the kitchen.
Clients, builder and designer were all heavily involved in the design decisions through the build, all enjoying each other’s contribution to the creative process. Wilson kept the trusses exposed in the main living area, refining his barn lights with proper sky lights that flood the entry and kitchen with year-round sun.
Megan and Ron specified a simple palette of finishes – polished concrete floors, kitchen cabinets finished in Resene ‘Cod Grey’, and stainless steel.
Skull painting: Flox
Megan and Ron specified a simple palette of finishes – polished concrete floors, kitchen cabinets finished in Resene ‘Cod Grey’, and stainless steel.
Skull painting: Flox
Megan admits that she had to abandon plans to reuse a second-hand kitchen she’d kept in storage for over a year, as she soon realized that a clean and simple box with an industrial kitchen table would work better in the large-scaled space. Smith built the rustic dining table and benches with vintage wood from an old Dutch cheese safe, sourced from antiques store Vitrine.
The joiner also built a custom stainless-steel hood for the extractor to avoid a big flue spoiling the lines of the ceiling and roof trusses. The corridor leads to the ground-floor bedrooms and bathrooms, with a stair to the mezzanine loft.
Many of the light fittings and finishes were collected by Megan and Ron as the building took shape. The planning period took six months, then there was a lot of preparation work to resolve drainage issues with the sloping site. While they waited for the steel trusses to be fabricated by by Parahaki Engineering, the couple began planting and gardening projects. The huge spans were designed to be bolted together on site.
Ron brought most of the furnishings from the shop, including the classic Scandanavian String shelving, lighting, rugs and large-scale painting. The leather chair is vintage, brought back from London.
While the house is insulated and double glazed, as well as oriented for passive-solar gain in the winter and shade in the summer, the Redels were keen to enjoy the warmth of a wood stove. The concrete window bench was formed on site by Smith’s team.
Rug, lighting, accessories: Bob and Friends; Kent Murchison wood stove: Bunnings
Rug, lighting, accessories: Bob and Friends; Kent Murchison wood stove: Bunnings
The bedrooms are simple and unadorned, the focus on the views of countryside that so attracted Megan and Ron to the area.
Wilson added bench seats outside the east-facing bedrooms, so that owners or guests can start their day sitting in the sun. “Those early mornings, engaging with the sun, you can just swing the window open and sit there to greet the new day,” he says.
The bedrooms have the same minimal palette, warmed by ceilings of birch ply. Megan is passionate about French monogrammed linen sheets, converting them to curtains as well as using them on the beds.
The mezzanine level is very much for the kids of the family and friends, says Megan. The space is finished with more of the ply, with simple rugs and furnishings.
Skylights frame views of the surrounding farms.
Megan tracked down the encaustic tiles for the bathrooms to add a punch of pattern.
“Like most of our projects, the clients are heavily involved; that’s how we work in these high designs,” says Smith. “We want it to be an enjoyable process, for them to be free to make decisions, and we end up friends.”
Since moving in, Megan and Ron have worked on the garden, creating simple outdoor spaces and converting the former pasture into a wildflower lawn. “This is perfect, absolutely perfect,” says Megan. “It is so wonderful to live in.”
TELL US: What do you like most about this barn-style home? Tell us in the Comments.
TELL US: What do you like most about this barn-style home? Tell us in the Comments.
Who lives here: Design store owners Megan and Ron Redel
Size: 220 square metres; 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms
Location: Mangawhai, north of Auckland
Architect: Carin Wilson, Studio Pasifika
Builder: Nick Smith, Smith Construction
Having found a suitable piece of land (“I bought the land while Ron was away,” says Megan) the couple set about designing a home based on the barn-like structure they’d seen and loved at Carin Wilson’s studio. The first step was driving up to take another look.
“Ron remembered going to Wilson’s barn and had always loved the shape,” Megan says. “He had no idea he was an architect; he thought he was a sculptor.”
Wilson’s barn was simpler than they had in mind – it was a real working man’s cave – so they asked Carin whether he could create a barn that looks more like a home.