Modern home features multiple decks and open plan upstairs living

Some homes look like they’ve simply been plonked on a site while others feel like they’re a direct response to their surroundings.

Right from the street, you know that this New Plymouth home – designed by architect Murali Bhaskar of Boon Team Architects – is all about engaging with its setting. The picket fence includes a graphic of Mount Taranaki while the facade’s large architectural fins are etched with topographical lines of the area.

“The owners are timber suppliers to the building industry and had clear ideas on what they required from their home, and even project managed it all themselves,” Bhaskar says. “They wanted the residence to showcase the great views and have a relaxed, coastal feel. They both had fond memories of living in this area before and had waited for a suitable site on this street with views to Pukekura Park and the ocean.”

In terms of functionality, the home had to make a street statement and include four bedrooms, an office, laundry, a four-car garage, a guest bathroom, four outdoor living spaces, an outdoor fire, spa pool and even a roof deck.

Seen together, the fins, fence and timber cladding on the wall and garage door reflect a strong vertical emphasis, giving the dramatic street presence required. However, the front of the home maintains privacy and offers little hint of the expansive interiors and views to come.

“The interiors play up the home’s proximity to the coast and its views, with an emphasis on natural tones seen in the polished concrete floors with beach-coloured stone aggregate, a lush cream carpet and the timber balustrading,” says Bhaskar. “In fact, earthy tones and the warmth of wood run right through the home.”

The entry hall leads straight ahead to the ground-floor bedrooms with their own shared deck. However, visitors climb the stairs or take the lift to reach the public areas and master suite.

Straight ahead at the top of the stairs, is the master suite and a small study. The latter achieves privacy from the street thanks to the fixed external fins on the front of the home.

The generous-sized, private master suite is separated from the living spaces by a deck that cuts into the floor plan, dividing the two areas.

To the left at top of the stairs is the approach to the open-plan living zone at the other end of the home. A long, faceted wood cabinet creates interest in this through area.

The light-filled, living-dining-kitchen space is the star of the home. The kitchen has a marble island with a bevelled benchtop that provides for casual seating, while the rear cabinetry extends the use of plywood. A window splashback throws natural light onto kitchen worksurfaces.

Most arresting, though, are the room’s many links to the outdoors. Decks reach out to views to the north, east and west – so there’s always a sheltered spot despite Taranaki’s changeable weather. Plus, the deck that tucks in between the master suite and living zone has roof louvres, effectively creating an outdoor living room.

The north deck also has an angled black steel pergola that adds further architectural interest.

With all the stacker doors drawn wide open, the interiors and deck spaces merge to create an expansive indoor-outdoor living environment.

“For more fresh air and even better views guests can head up to the flat roof for a spa or to simply relax in the all-weather lounger,” says Bhaskar. “We overlaid the roof in river stones, too – stretching out in the lounger with the river stones in the foreground and sea in the distance, you could be forgiven for thinking you’d found a beachfront property in the heart of the city.”

Story by: Charles Moxham

Photography by: Sandra Henderson