A stunning modern home in the heart of rural Mangawhai, Hilltop is a study in style, substance and sustainability. The four-bedroom residence by Smith Construction was always envisaged as a “robust family home”, and with multiple eloquent transitions between indoor to outdoor spaces there is more than enough room to ensure moments of privacy at any age.
Set on four and a half acres, the layout of the home was conceived years before its construction, and refined over the early months of the pandemic. “The arrival of Covid made us even more determined to create a sanctuary where you could entertain and sustain yourselves no matter what else is going on in the world,” says Nick Smith, founder, Smith Construction, who has focused his services on crafting stunning properties north of Auckland, predominantly for clients in Mangawhai, Te Arai & the Bream Bay area, for over twelve years.
A key element of the home’s refined rustic aesthetic is the use of upcycled materials, which help create design features and keep sustainable practices top of mind. A recycled brick feature wall adds an edge to the open plan living and dining area, using materials left over from an earlier Smith Construction project that featured on Grand Designs.
“The bricks originally came from the site of the old Real Groovy Records store on Auckland’s Queen Street,” while the home’s internal walls have been lined with recycled Rimu roof sarking, 80 plus years of weathering creating a unique finish that is very easy to love. The kitchen was designed and built by Mangawhai Design, with the recycled bricks sitting alongside recycled oak panelling and Neolith Porcelain bench tops.
The custom blued steel rangehood adds an industrial edge to the space, just one of many original elements that make this build stand out from the crowd. When entering the home through handmade Totara front doors you get a glimpse of the expansive rural views leading you to the open plan living space, where In-Situ concrete has been used for both the indoor and outdoor fireplaces, and polished concrete floors add to the feeling of serenity.
As well as using upcycled materials, Smith Construction is passionate about sourcing sustainable products for their builds where practical. Hilltop’s exterior decking is a great example, being constructed using Millboard Decking sourced from Forté Flooring. Made from a revolutionary polyurethane resin reinforced with mineral fibres in the United Kingdom, Millboard decking and the processes used to create it come with minimal impact on the environment.
A north-facing aspect means that the home enjoys all day sun as well as views across the rolling Brynderwyns, whilst an exterior clad in charred Japanese cedar from Sugi NZ ensures it sits gently within the landscape. A swimming pool, spa and vegetable gardens are reached via pathways made from oceanic schist crazy paving and river stones, further enhancing the tranquillity of the rural setting and making for the perfect escape from the pressures of modern life.