Designed by Bronwen Kerr and Pete Ritchie of Kerr Ritchie Architects, this house sits on a lifestyle block at the northern end of Lake Hayes. The undulating landscape, mountainous backdrops, and horses in the paddock next door create an idyllic rural feel and a sense of spaciousness.

The clients bought the site and found their design inspiration very close to home - the neighbours’ house. That house is Pete Ritchie’s parents’ place, also designed by himself and Bronwen. The clients liked the look of the house and subsequently commissioned Kerr Ritchie to design their home.

The brief was for a comfortable family house for four. Kerr and Ritchie presented them with a few options, and the clients quickly settled on their preferred plan. The plan is designed to maximise the north-facing site and views. From both the living room and bedrooms the views are out to Coronet Peak and Arrowtown.

The house is laid out in two wings, living and sleeping. It has been designed to integrate with the sloping site, creating stepped levels. The form of the house seemed to be a natural and appropriate response to the topography of the site, says Kerr.

The living wing contains an open-plan entryway with living room, dining room and kitchen. Stairs connect the small jump to the slightly raised television room. This room connects with the linear bedroom wing. This wing has an office, two bathrooms, a laundry and three bedrooms, and runs away from the rest of the house on an angle that reflects the steep terrain.

The bedroom wing has a steep roofline that follows the slope of the hill behind it. In the two teenagers’ bedrooms the tall roof space allows for mezzanine floors, accessed by wall ladders and partly closed off with translucent plastic sheets. In the master bedroom this extra space is opened up to create a tall ceiling.

The bedroom wing and the east-facing sides of the other wings are clad in a dark corrugated metal. The garage and living wing on the west side are clad in vertical and textured cedar weatherboards with concrete blockwork. The timber is carried on throughout the interior in the entry wall and the flooring, with a cedar screen between the entry and the kitchen. Similarly the blockwork is continued on to the interior. The mix of simple and robust materials creates a different profile for each wing, but also forms a coherent link between exterior and interior surfaces.

This is a warm family home that works with the landscape and sits comfortably on its site with understated grace.

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Note: These are stories from our archives and, since the time of writing, some details may have changed including names, personnel of specific firms, registration status, etc.