Choosing a colour from the wide range available
proved trickier, but eventually they se led on a ma
black powdercoat. “We’ve had wooden joinery in
all the houses we’ve lived in so we didn’t know what
it would look like,” says Oliver. “We were scared it
might be a li le thick and overpowering, but we
love it – it looks fantastic.”
Early in the planning process Oliver visited the
Chorus Fibre Lab to fi nd out how to wire the new
home for future technological advances. These days
fi bre is considered the fourth
utility, just like electricity, gas and
water, so it’s wise to consider it
from the planning stages of your
build, and make sure you install
USB sockets and ethernet ports
alongside your power sockets.
The couple also thought long
and hard about heating and
cooling their home, eventually
choosing a Haier ducted air
conditioning system rather than
a wall-mounted heat pump.
One of the benefi ts of building
new was that they could have
it installed in the ceiling cavity
to deliver heating, cooling,
condensation minimisation and
air purifi cation throughout thehome via strategically placed vents.
“It’s even controlled via an app,” says
Oliver, “so we can turn it on when we’re
on our way home.”
Flooring was their next big decision, as they
knew it would form the foundation for the
rest of their interior design. “The Nature’s Oak
ma -fi nished engineered wood fl ooring from
Carpet Court was one of the fi rst things we
chose, and we designed the rest of the house
around it,” says Oliver. For the bedrooms they chose
Carpet Court’s Rhino Portland carpet because its stain
resistance makes it ideal for messy family life.
Flooring samples in hand, they visited a Resene
ColorShop for advice on pu ing together a colour
scheme, eventually choosing a low-sheen white
walls (Resene Quarter White Pointer) for the living
areas, so yellow walls (Resene Half Moonbeam)
and a cactus wallpaper in Otis’ room, tangerine paint
(Resene Romantic) and a dog-print wallpaper in E a’s
room and a restful blue green (Resene Half Robin
Egg Blue) for the main bedroom.
They fi nished the interior with o -white linen-look
curtains, black sunscreen roller blinds and kitchen
shu ers from CurtainStudio, bathroom fi ings fromA compact laundry is hidden
behind sliding doors in the hallOliver says the
fi nal two weeks
of the build were
like an episode of
The Block, with
countless tradies
on-site and
hundreds of snap
decisions to be
made every day