Black beauty

Designed by Ian and Linda Gare; Fat Hippo Design Group

A few years back, the Gares recreated a home they had loved but hankered to build again – making some subtle changes but using the same basic layout. 

Their new home in Golden Road, 10km from Alexandra in Central Otago, has incorporated features they spent a lot of time thinking about and revising before locking in an architect to draw up the plans to include these new ideas.

Spectacular outlooks

Designed by Ian Gare himself in conjunction with Fat Hippo Design Group, the four-bedroom home sits on an elevated site on a 0.1km block providing 360-degree views that stretch over valleys, a range of rocky mountains and across to the McArthur Ridge vineyard with its changing seasonal colours. 

Ian Gare says their aim with the new plan was to open the home to the beautiful views and create outdoor areas in harmony with the landscape.

A large part of the design was based on encouraging passive heating during winter so there is a large proportion of glass on the north face of the house with large eaves stretching out over the four bedrooms.

This arrangement draws the sun deep into the home over winter with none coming in through the area's usually very warm summers.

Improving on the design of their previous home, the second lounge and garage are now incorporated into the main house whereas before they had been separated from the house. 

Corten steel appeal

The entrance to the home also merited a change, with Corten steel wrapped around the fascia of the flat roof that comes out from the front door and another opposing wall featuring Corten steel in an attractive grid pattern.

While the Gares decided to opt for the classic 'black is the new black' look with the colour of the metal roofing and cladding, inside the home they chose a wider use of colours such as Resene’s Tuna and St Kilda which was an exciting exercise for Lynda Gare in particular.

As operations manager for PlaceMakers in Alexandra and Cromwell, Ian Gare has been in a key position to explore the different ideas, plans and concepts coming through the trade with many different products and finishes to choose from.

This time, the Gares sought inspiration over a wider field and the roofing on the new home is a case in point as Dimond’s DP955® was the profile chosen for both the walls and roof of the new home.

Something different

Ian Gare hadn’t seen Dimond® DP955® profile used as a residential metal wall cladding before, however, they were looking for something different to the more traditional residential profiles such as Corrugate or Veedek®. 

Inspired by the European look tray profiles such as Dimond’s Eurotray® Angle Seam profile, they wanted something that could deliver a tray look but at a more economical price point.

DP955 – an individual finish

DP955® is designed not only to be stronger than traditional profiles but also more cost effective and faster to install.

Its design provides stronger ribs to protect against buckling and a wide tray style pan to allow for safe foot placement.

With a wider cover width of 955mm, fewer DP955® sheets are required to be installed, saving both time and money. 

DP955®’s original look creates a distinctive and diverse design unlike traditional profiles, ensuring a unique finish.

Find out more about Dimond's roof and cladding options here

Story by: Trendsideas