Living The Dream

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A 10-acre property has become a family's paradise in Tauranga.

As featured in Homestyle Magazine

Words: Soraya Nicholas
Photography: Amanda Aitken

For Shay and Katrina Hulsebosch, the dream of owning a piece of land when they had a family was an ideal they both shared. So when the opportunity arose to buy a 10-acre section less than 10 kilometres from the CBD, they decided to go for it. "We were both drawn to the look of a long house," explains Katrina. "We had seen a 1970s style home in a magazine, with a flat roof and long windows, and that was definitely our inspiration", and the final design is everything they had hoped it would be.

"Before we chose our builder, we went to a show home," says Shay. They were impressed by the display home and everyone they met at Signature Homes. "Everything just worked out so well. They came up with the perfect plan, the designer there was awesome, and we were so impressed by the building team once construction started."

While they have no qualms about the building process itself, Shay and Katrina did face challenges along the way. They elected to live on site throughout the duration of the build, which meant tenting with young daughter Eliana (3). Once their new shed was built, they relocated, but on their first night back indoors, Katrina went into labour with son Cole, now 20 months old. "It was a very happy experience," says Katrina of building, "and it was so nice being able to watch the house being built, but we had our moments!

Shay and Katrina have already recommended Signature Homes to friends and family, and they do not do so lightly. "They were so great to deal with, and the end result is fantastic. We also appreciated how realistic they were with us when it came to our budget, and they pointed out what we could and couldn't afford, and made sure there were no budget surprises at the end.

Although Signature Homes were the driving force behind the home's success, they are quick to point out that their loyal subcontractors and suppliers deserve credit too. One such company is Celcrete International Ltd, who supplied 50mm Celcrete panels to create the smooth exterior finish for the house. The hardwearing panels are made from autoclaved aerated concrete, which is an unbeatable solid, lightweight building material. The concrete is fire and pest resistant, as well as being unable to warp or rot, due to its composition of sand, lime and cement which has been a popular building product in Europe for over 100 years.

The interior of Katrina and Shay's home has a contemporary yet family friendly feel. The highlight inside is without a doubt the children's bedrooms, with Katrina working diligently to make them special. In Eliana's room, she replicated a wall decal she had seen on-line and together with Eliana's Poppa crafted a concept from custom wood and patterned paper. In Cole's room, she made a ship, complete with bunting flags extending along the wall, before turning her creative magic on the playroom, which is located directly across the hall from the children's bedrooms. There, the toy-cupboard fronts are painted with black board paint, so Eliana and Cole can draw to their hearts content.

To assist Shay and Katrina on the interior of the house, Signature Homes recommended Kathryn McMillan from KGD Design Ltd. She worked with the couple to determine their interior and exterior colour palette, as well as assisting them with many other design decisions. Kathryn organised the carpet, tiles and worked on the kitchen design, to ensure continuity was achieved throughout the home.

For the exterior, "grey tones were decided upon rather than black/white combinations that are popular at present," says Kathryn. "This melded more comfortably in the rural environment, and allowed the beautiful cedar cladding to be appreciated to its fullest." Kathryn also kept the interior spaces simple by specifying the colour Cardrona throughout much of the house. "Shay and Katrina had some strong ideas themselves, and also wanted inspiration from me as their designer. In order to deliver to their demands, I simply listened to what they had to say and then delivered that creatively."

Part of the home's instant appeal is the designer kitchen, and Kathryn assisted Shay and Katrina extensively in this area. The kitchen was designed, manufactured and installed by Mastercraft Kitchens, and it recently won the award for Best Kitchen under $15,000 at the 2010 National Kitchen & Bathroom Awards. The kitchen is crafted from Parbury low pressure laminate cupboards and drawers, in colour Blond Echo. This material was also used to form a low wall as a continuation of the breakfast bar, which is made from Wilsonart Frosty White in a silk matte finish. There is also a hidden walk-in pantry, and the same materials were used to ensure continuity was achieved.

The interior of the home is further enhanced by neutral, light coloured floor coverings. A 100% pure wool carpet was used throughout the house, and is New Zealand Environmental Choice certified. Designed in a textured loop pile, the colour of the carpet was selected by Shay and Katrina, to suit the overall colour palette of the interior. Rated extra heavy duty, the carpet is suitable for the rigours of everyday family life, and it also has strong fire retardant properties. To create the best finish and longevity, the carpet was installed over a high-density urethane underlay.

The bathrooms feature a soothing, neutral colour theme, although the floors are adorned with tiles. Selected from the large range available at Bay Tiles, they are as hardwearing as the carpet, and establish a very dramatic effect. Fossil Grey 300x600 tiles were placed on the floors of each bathroom, with the matching tile used on the walls of the main bathroom, along with Fossil Grey mosaics. In the en suite, 300x600 White Gloss tiles feature on the walls, once again paired with the Fossil Grey mosaics to create a point of difference.

The tiles were laid by Palazzo Tiling Limited, who regularly work on houses built by Signature Homes. They were happy to work with quality tiles, and studiously placed each tile to ensure the completed look was meticulous. In addition to actually placing each tile, Palazzo Tiles completed all of the necessary waterproofing for the bathrooms, which is necessary to ensure future peace of mind in the wet areas, such as the shower and around the bath. The finished look is contemporary and stylish, and both Shay and Katrina are thrilled with it.

To complete the modern look for the bathrooms, Signature Homes recommended a three-sided shower for the main bathroom, with a white 600 series door and moulded liner. The shower was custom measured and made to ensure the best fit was created. They also supplied mirrors for each bathroom, which make the spaces seem larger than they are, and provide great visibility for everyday bathroom use.

Despite this being the first home Shay and Katrina have built, they describe it as their dream abode. The land and the home are everything they had ever hoped for, especially with a young family. Eliana and Cole are growing up with an entire ten acres to explore, sheep to chase and hens to collect eggs from, not to mention a gorgeous new house to live in.

Our Place
With Shay & Katrina Hulsebosch

Why were you drawn to this piece of land?
Katrina: Shay grew up on a farm, and we both wanted to move slightly out of town so the children could enjoy having animals and space to play. We're only 9 kilometres from the Tauranga CBD, so we have the best of both worlds.

Favourite room?
Shay: The dining/kitchen area and foyer because of the high ceilings.
Katrina: The kids' rooms. I had a lot of input into creating them so they are really special to me.

Best Buy?
Shay: Our bargain item would be the piece of art we made for the foyer. We found old posts on the farm and cut them up with a saw to make an abstract piece of art. Our best actual buy would be Katrina's day bed, which is outside the master bedroom. It was her 30th birthday present.

What do friends & family like most?
In general they just really love the home overall. We have a lot of comments about the wallpaper in our bedroom, and about the en suite, but the general comments are just that the house is amazing.