A couple in the building industry liked a semi-rural location so much, they bought and built in the area twice
Meet & greet
Hayden (builder) and Ashleigh Dam (nurse educator), George, three, and Dani the cat.
1 The Design
Given Hayden and Ashleigh Dam own a building company, they have a tendency to spend only three or so years in each new home they build. “We enjoy seeing all the new ideas and styles coming out and want to try them,” admits Hayden. For the couple’s latest build, a four-bedroom, 286sqm house in Palmerston North, they were keen to try a pavilion-style home, with two buildings connected to a central walkway similar to one they’d seen on a trip to Taupō. The house is the second property they’ve built in the this subdivision, which they like for its views across the Manawatū, the semi-rural location and the flat building site, which is “key to keeping costs down”.
2 The Materials
They used Linea Oblique Weatherboard by James Hardie, which accounted for 80 percent of the exterior, and band-sawn cedar on the gable ends. Hayden says the weatherboard cladding is able to stand up to the “very high wind zone” and was able to be painted a dark natural colour, which is something they had to abide by in the subdivision’s covenants. They also liked the fact that Linea Oblique Weatherboard is low maintenance, affordable and suited their style of home. “We found that you could alternate the Linea Oblique Weatherboard from 200mm to 300mm boards. This helped achieve a design difference at relatively little expense,” says Hayden.
3 The Interior
The open-plan central living space has a pitched ceiling that carries through to the outdoor area, accessible through stacking doors that can be opened in summer.
Hayden had seen pictures of a his-and-hers shower with a rain head at each end, which he’d wanted to try in other homes he’d built but not had the chance, so the couple included the rain heads in their bathroom. But it is the kitchen that is a standout feature for them. Designed and built by Workshop Designs, they’re thrilled with everything from the Dekton benchtop that is virtually indestructible “to the servo drives that open drawers automatically if you have your hands full”.
4 The Outdoors
The couple both love how easy the home is to live in. “Everything works seamlessly and wears so well together. When designing it you see these cool ideas on the internet and wonder how they’ll work.”
Come summer and it’s the outside that they thoroughly enjoy. The outdoor living faces north to get the sun and two skylights let more light in through the pitched roof. There’s a kwila deck with an outdoor gas fire and Bluetooth built-in speakers by the pool. “Nothing beats cooking a barbecue on a warm, clear summer’s evening with views across the Manawatū to Mt Taranaki and Ruapehu in the background, and doing bombs in the pool with George, then warming up in front of the outside fire roasting marshmallows,” Hayden says. The house is 99 percent finished but “there will always be that one percent of a builder’s home that’s not finished”.
Photography by: Swell Productions
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