Visitors to the home of Hayley and Paul Minors in Greenhithe can’t help but be blown away by the sweeping views across Hobsonville and Herald Island when they’re in the young family’s open-plan kitchen-dining-living area.
Home Profile
Meet & Greet: Hayley and Paul Minors (owner of a software consulting company), their children Jay, seven, Murphy, four, Goldie, one, and their one-eyed cat, Noah.
The Property: A new build in Greenhithe, Auckland
Here, the floor-to-ceiling Vantage double-glazed sliding doors open completely onto the kwila deck, which leads to an outdoor fireplace(a mandatory for Paul) and towards the swimming pool and out across to that view.
“We’re loving entertaining here because it’s a really big, expansive place that people can flow between,” says Paul. “The windows and doors are unsung heroes because that’s what allows the light to come in and you capture the light and warmth of the day.” He takes particular pride in the flush and seamless journey from inside to out through these doors.
It’s these details and the incredible privacy the section offers that have made the challenge of buying the sloping section and building on it worthwhile.
Hayley, a North Shore local and British-born Paul were already living in the suburb and wanted something bigger when Hayley noticed the elevated section that incorporates a tract of native bush. Paul crunched the numbers and decided they could buy the land and build with the help of a local building company and Michael Cooper Architects.
Their brief was a contemporary modern, four-bedroom, 320sqm home across four levels with a purpose-built office that utilised cedar both internally and externally. They also wanted it to feel light and warm, important as they’d lived in some older ’70s-style homes. The striking gym on the ground floor was an afterthought, but they’re thrilled with how it turned out. Other than that, they were happy to collaborate with the builders and architect and defer to their wisdom.
“It turned out better than I pictured,” says Paul. Now, they get to enjoy listening to the tūī, watching the little quail family and building tree houses in the bush with their young family, relishing the local village feel of the area.
See more of this home at vantage.co.nz/open-door-policy
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