Kingscliff by Signature Homes

View the slideshow for this home

Click the images in this gallery to view enlarged versions.

Traditional was the theme for Alex & Albina Kinasov's sprawling new five bedroom home north of Auckland.

The couple originally got in contact with Signature Homes in 2006, and had looked seriously at two other new home options with the company on Auckland's North Shore, on each occasion concluding that although they had found a builder they felt very comfortable with, perhaps their ideal solution was still waiting for them around the corner.

Then, in 2008, Alex & Albina attended a house-warming at an exclusive rural estate just north of Auckland. The estate (or Farm Park as it is called) is made up of predominantly one-acre lots set on rolling country pasture, surrounded by larger farms, providing highly attractive, panoramic views. This, they decided, would be the perfect location for their new home.

Alex and Albina then made contact with the developer and purchased a section. The next step in the process was developing the floor plan and exterior look for their new home. The couple sat down with Signature Homes New Home Consultant and Designer Steve Garvey, and began to put some ideas on paper.

Apart from utilising the sun as much as possible, the key objectives of the floor plan were to create some separation between the bedrooms, the living areas and the lounge theatre, as well as to ensure the best views of the surrounding pasture could be taken in from the living areas and master bedroom. The floorplan also features an adjoined kitchen, dining and family room, providing an intimate and cosy family environment, highly desirable in a home of this size.

Other features the couple added to the inclusions list were a sauna, three bathrooms, an en suite for the master bedroom, a study, a loggia and garaging for four cars. The floor plan also allowed for a common area, which is in essence a second lounge area central to all five of the bedrooms. Provision was also made for the addition of a swimming pool at some point in the future.

When it came to the cladding, the couple wanted something traditional and durable, and had seen a home feature in a magazine with red bricks and corbelled features on the corners which had really appealed to them. One of Alex & Albina's friends was contracted to complete the arched entrance to the home.

One of the design's talking points is the loggia, which allows the opening of two entire walls in the Northern corner of the home, providing massive quantities of light and fresh air, while also providing protection and shelter when required from the variable weather New Zealand is famous for. The room provides what is essentially an outdoor dining room in summer, but could also be used as a play area, conservatory or an indoor/outdoor living area depending on the preference of the owners.

The interior of the home has been fitted out beautifully, with some of the nice touches being the ceramic floor tiling, compressed bamboo flooring and the 2.7 metre ceilings, which raise up to the height of 4 metres at the entrance and 3 metres in the living area. Other features of the living area include a ceramic kitchen splash back, marble kitchen bench and beautiful crystal chandeliers, which were imported especially imported from the Czech Republic.

OUR HOME with Albina Kinasov

SH: Why did you choose to build your home with Signature Homes?
Albina: "We were able to work together and communicate well and we wanted the emphasis for our home to be on quality, which we felt they could deliver on. Their guarantees were also a factor. The other thing we liked about Signature Homes was that throughout the process, they always did what they said they were going to do."

SH: What's your favourite feature of the home?
Albina: "I really couldn't separate anything, I love it all. We do really enjoy entertaining friends in the kitchen and living area, and we also like spending time in the loggia. We still go to open homes from time to time and nothing we see compares to our home in terms of quality. We've also had an agent value the home, and they actually said to us that they couldn't find any flaws with it."

SH: Did anything else stand out about the construction process?
Albina: "The two Project Managers who looked after us, Brian Kennedy and Andrew Haglund, did a great job."