Your Home and Garden – September 2019

MEET + GREET

Rachael and Kip Matterson, sons Seb,

William and Nate, plus Winston the dog

and Arty the cat.

YH&G + VANTAGE

A

fter completing a traditional

villa renovation in Auckland

in 2001, Rachael and Kip

Matterson moved south

to the Waikato, where Kip

grew up. While the perfect

home eluded them for over a decade, the

couple had time to work out what they wanted.

“It needed to meet our needs throughout the

various stages of our lives,” says Rachael. “We

wanted a forever home.”

The design was inspired by piazzas in

Rome and ancient caravanserai on the old Silk

Road, lofty ideals for a slice of farmland that

also needed to be merged with the Mattersons’

desire for an energy-efficient, eco-friendly home.

1 |

SUSTAINABILITY

The design brief was fulfilled with a

central courtyard, snug internal spaces

and a central living space with large windows

and doors on the north and south sides of

the home. These large panes of glass would

maximise sunshine hours, providing passive

heating by warming the concrete floors, as

well as allowing access to the outdoors. High

clerestory windows and lower-level windows

onto the courtyard provide ventilation.

“We realised that despite double glazing, a

lot of heat would be lost through the glass in our

living area,” says Rachael. “So it was important

to maximise our glazing options to retain heat.”

ThermalHEART technology from Vantage

Windows & Doors proved to be an easy choice.

“Window joinery was a big-ticket item,” says

Rachael. “So it was important to lock in some

of these key decisions early on. It’s proven to be

robust, low maintenance, and it looks great.”

2 |

ON REFLECTION

The Mattersons couldn’t be happier

with their new home and a recent

celebration helped them realise how well it

works for their way of life. “We recently hosted

my mother’s 80th birthday with immediate

family all staying and extended family joining us

for a sit-down dinner in the living room,” says

Rachael. “The house worked so wonderfully

for all three generations. We have been lucky

enough to build our dream home and we plan to

be here for a very long time.” •

SEE MORE OF THIS HOME AT

VANTAGE.CO.NZHEARTWARMING