There’s a driftwood artwork in the entrance to Simon and Bronwen Coe’s family home, depicting a little boat bobbing on rough seas. Made by Bronwen herself, it represents their journey from the UK to New Zealand, then down south to Invercargill, and the hard work involved in building their own home.
“It’s a little bit of a raggedy boat, but it’s still here,” says Bronwen. The family are now enjoying calmer waters. They’re proudly living in a cosy, joyful home they helped build with their own hands.
Needed elbow grease
The work was certainly hard, but for Simon, Bronwen, and their three boys, it also felt like a grand adventure. After they moved to Invercargill for Simon’s job in 2017, the family bought a four-hectare lifestyle block. Bare except for a woolshed, it was this paddock where they intended to build their home. They scrubbed and reclad the shed, then had the bright idea to move into it while they built the house.
Home profile
Meet & greet: Bronwen (owner/operator, ITS Upholstery) and Simon Coe (rector of Southland Boys’ High School), and their sons Rory, 16, Morgan, 14, Bryn, 11, plus Finn the dog, Emmett the cat, and assorted farm animals.
The property: Four-bedroom, two-bathroom new-build in Invercargill.
Bronwen’s apprenticeship
“We moved in there in April 2018, thinking that we would only be there for about six months. We ended up living there for three years,” says Bronwen.
Sleeping in a caravan, parked within the woolshed, this living arrangement served them well. This set-up appealed to the boys’ sense of adventure, while allowing Simon and Bronwen the convenience of being on-site to supervise the build, as well as getting their own hands dirty.
The couple had agreed on a self-build contract with builder Jeremy Skeggs. This enabled them to chip in as their skills allowed. “He would give me a job that an apprentice might do, something that didn’t require skill. So, I ended up digging holes and tying off the reinforcement mesh for the concrete and putting in screws for the iron on the outside of the house – that sort of thing,” says Bronwen.
Team effort
At the pointy end of the build, Bronwen learned how to tile so she could tackle both bathrooms. Simon did all the painting, and they both put up the ply lining in the workroom, laundry and playroom. “It meant the process took longer, which is why we ended up being in the woolshed for three years. But it was very satisfying.”
Grow your own
Being on-site also allowed them to work on the block, putting in place all the landscaping building blocks they wanted and getting a head start on achieving their bold goal of a self-sufficient lifestyle. With admirable forethought, they planted a eucalyptus grove for future firewood, an orchard and an extensive vegetable patch.
Next up were animals; chickens, of course, plus a small number of sheep and cattle to round out their menagerie. While Bronwen grew up on a lifestyle block with horses and chickens – the couple gained most of their experience on the job, guided by knowledgeable friends.
“We’re ‘doers’ – we’re happy to have a go. We were lucky to get great advice from people, then we just got on with it,” says Bronwen. “It’s constant hard work, gardening, looking after animals. But the rewards are awesome: you get to provide food for your family, be out in the countryside, and spend time with animals. It’s lovely.”
Of course, it’s not all work and no play. A small paddock has been sectioned off for blowing off steam, with football goals in winter, a mown cricket pitch in summer, and even a couple of golf holes for Simon.
Green light
Now completed, the house is a picture of rural comfort, a cosy shelter from Invercargill’s chilly winters, and a just reward for all the family’s hard work. Coming from the comparatively balmy climate of the North Island, Bronwen had briefed architectural designer Phil Orr of ArchDraught with their top priorities: light and warmth.
Rural efficiency
Phil specialises in eco builds, which suited the couple’s values and vision for their home. Taking inspiration from the existing woolshed, they designed the house as two interconnected, steel-clad structures.
“It looks like a group of farm buildings. With the woolshed beside it, together they resemble old farm sheds that we’ve converted,” says Bronwen.
To maximise warmth and energy efficiency, they oriented the house to the north and installed full-length windows that welcome as much sunlight as possible. The concrete floors absorb the heat, and extra-thick, double-insulated walls help retain it.
“Our only source of heat is a wood burner, which effectively heats the whole house (we have a heat transfer system to the bedrooms) with that alone.”
Being on a lifestyle block means septic tanks, so the couple opted for something environmentally innovative here too. Instead of a regular septic tank, the house is hooked up to a Biolytix system. It uses worms to process wastewater from the house, turning it into fertiliser they can use to feed their orchard trees.
Recycle, repurpose, reuse
Sustainability is a leitmotif throughout Bronwen and Simon’s home, and one doesn’t have to look far to find evidence that they walk the eco talk. “I don’t tend to go for off-the-shelf stuff,” says Bronwen, who has filled her home with lovingly repurposed objects: a wool-sorting table made into a kitchen island; iron off the old woolshed turned into a sliding door; a VW bonnet into a bedhead; a digger bucket into a firepit.
Truly unique
The effect is playful, quirky and pleasing to the eye – and completely on brand for Bronwen who, as a professional upholsterer, rescues furniture for a living and celebrates the form, function and history of every piece she restores.
“I love the stories behind pieces of furniture. They often have family stories around them, which are part of the furniture’s history. So, when I strip down a chair, I like to put in a little swatch of the old fabric and a card with the date and what I did. It keeps the history of the chair within it,” she says.
The history of Bronwen and Simon’s home is similarly preserved for whoever might come after them. “Right at the end of the build, we put together a memory box of the process and put it in the fabric of the house, so if anyone ever knocks it down or does renovations, they’ll find it. That was a special thing to do with the kids because it was a big chunk of their lives as well,” says Bronwen.
Bronwen’s tips for an eco-conscious home
1. Use natural resources as a source of heat
The house was designed to make the most of light and heat from the sun. We have large north-facing windows with a polished concrete floor in the main living areas.
In summer, the higher sun warms only the front 50cm of the floor, while in winter, the lower sun reaches almost to the back wall. The concrete absorbs the sun’s heat in winter and retains it thanks to the 100mm of polystyrene insulation beneath it.
The insulation in the house means it keeps an even temperature in summer and winter. A wood burner (supplied by wood we grow) is the only source of heating. A Moisture Master heat transfer system distributes the heat throughout the house. We have had lots of people comment that they assumed the concrete has underfloor heating built in as it feels warm underfoot.
2. Recycle, repurpose, reuse
As an upholsterer, I love well-made furniture. Vintage and retro furniture has “good bones” in that the frame is usually made from solid wood. So by reupholstering, it can be given a new life and reduce landfill waste.
I like to think outside the box when I furnish our home, which is why it feels so unique and eclectic. Our kitchen bench started life as an old wool-sorting table, and we turned an industrial sewing machine and table into a sideboard. Our key box used to be an old telephone, our barn sliding door features iron we salvaged from the woolshed when we reclad it, and our outdoor fire began as an old digger bucket — the list goes on and on.
3. Treat your waste
We have a Biolytix septic system, installed by Laser Plumbing in Invercargill from biolytix.com: “The Biolytix Biopod is a unique and patented method of treating waste that mimics nature to provide passive, reliable treatment of household wastewater. Award-winning, eco-friendly, worm sewage treatment suitable for standard homes.”
4. Grow your own food
We are lucky to have the space for a vegetable garden and orchard. Growing your food is so rewarding. It also teaches your kids the advantages of eating seasonally and where food comes from.
You don’t need to have a big garden to grow your own food. When we were students at university, we grew vegetables in grow bags on a small patio garden in London.
It is worth starting the landscaping plan at the same time as the build if possible. By living on site, we were able to spend time setting up the land to be productive at the same time as building. Once we moved in, we were able to sit back and reap the benefits of established fruit trees and a productive vegetable garden.
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