A brother designed it, a friend built it – the right connections came in handy for this new home.

Friends and family connections came in handy with the creation of this new family home on Waiheke Island

When Andrea and Nick Hutchins were looking for a place to settle in Auckland, they took a gamble on the tight-knit community of Waiheke Island. Nick, an engineer, and Andrea, a communications and PR consultant, are both from the South Island and wanted to live somewhere that had the same laid-back feeling of a small South Island town. So they nabbed a rental on the island for six weeks to see if they could handle the 40-minute commute to Auckland city via ferry. That was nearly 10 years ago and they haven’t looked back.

After living in a few rentals, they eventually purchased their first home, a state house that had been relocated to the island from Birkdale on Auckland’s North Shore. The couple weren’t seriously looking to buy again when they happened upon a site with a rundown house atop the hill overlooking Anzac Bay on the island's southern coast. It was the view that sold it to them.

Luckily, Andrea’s brother is an architect – John Deuchrass of Sydney-based JDA Studio – and they have a friend who’s a builder – James Neilson of JKN Construction – so plans began for a brand new home.

“We get asked this a lot – what it was like to work with a friend as our builder and my brother who was an architect. But honestly it was a dream, even with John being based in Sydney,” says Andrea.

The fundamental element of the design was that it worked in with the landscape of the quiet bay and wasn’t intrusive. The concept was different from what Nick and Andrea had originally envisaged but Andrea says it maximises the space, there’s lawn for the kids to play and it’s a strong, cleanlined form. From the road, the view straight down to the bay can be seen through all of the windows.

Says John: “I like to think about architecture very specifically to how it fits to its site, seeing a building nestle into its context. The spaces in and around the building are just as important as the internal spaces. Buildings that maximise the potential of the site rather than sit on it as an object are interesting.”

‘YOU WANT TO HAVE A HOME WHERE THE KIDS CAN BREATHE... IT’S ABOUT THIS BEING A PRACTICAL HOME’

The L-shaped house, anchored by the garage, is private from the street. “It became very clear that this was important to them and in a way became the backbone to the design,” says John. “Not having the garage connected to the house gives a relaxed approach, which seemed to suit the Waiheke feel.”

The house is set out over two wings – one for the four bedrooms and the other for living – with a courtyard between them.

“The layout was fundamental,” says John. “To be able to see the kids playing from the main living areas was important to Nick and Andrea, as were the views of the bay. So was having a kids’ rumpus area, which was separate to the main living area although not totally disconnected.”

Nick takes the kids sailing in the bay below, often holding regattas with their friends while some parents watch through their floor-to-ceiling windows with binoculars and a glass of wine. Designing a home for three children – Amelia, seven, Jack, five, and Lucie, two – was key says Andrea.

“Having a new build with children can be a bit scary, like the white benchtops that are more often than not used for craft and drawing. With that in mind you want to have a home where the kids can breathe. Until they are a bit older, it’s about this being a practical home.”

It’s rare to hear a new house build described as a dream but there wasn’t much to stress about during the 18-month project. Nick and Andrea sought advice from quantity surveyors twice to check for hidden costs, and had to factor in the cost of transporting materials to the island.

‘The spaces in and around the building are just as important as the internal spaces’

“Bringing everything over on the ferry did present some challenges and added costs but there’s always some give and take when it comes to building. John and the builders were always good at finding alternatives and we just worked through it,” says Andrea.

The next task is to work on access from the house down the bank to the bay. “We needed to plant the bank first and see what took hold before we focused on a track down to the water. Tropical planting around the house is combined with a variety of indoor plants, adding to the seamless feel from inside to out.”

While this is a contemporary home, some of the furnishings are family heirlooms and second-hand furniture, such as the dining table that belonged to Andrea’s parents: “I love it and how it’s covered in pen and marks from the kids.” There’s no television in the lounge but there’s a projector hidden away. After all, why would you need a television with views like these?

THESE PAGES Looking across the Hutchin family’s Waiheke Island property down into Anzac Bay, which owner Andrea Hutchin says is the best thing to come home to; landscaping was done by Liam Greenway; nikau palms line the property.

THIS PAGE Depending on the wind, Andrea and Nick can choose either outdoor area and still enjoy the view. OPPOSITE Andrea with the couple's children Amelia, Jack and Lucie, and Lulu the dog; the kids love the space and freedom of their island home, says Andrea.

THIS PAGE The couple have used a mix of old and new furniture, such as this inherited table matched with chairs from Simon James Design. OPPOSITE (from top) A marble splashback from Artedomus is a feature of the kitchen. The couple picked the Michael Hight beehive artwork because it reminds them of the South Island; the sofa and the Bloom pendants by Resident in the corner are from King Living; the pendant over the table is from Simon James Design.

THIS PAGE (clockwise from left) Lucie's rocking horse is from a recycling centre attached to the local refuse station and sits on a Pasu Bunny felt rug by Muskhane France from Tea Pea. Black accents throughout the house continue in the en suite. A fiddle leaf fig thrives in the master bedroom; the duvet cover came from A&C Homestore. OPPOSITE Andrea with Lulu the dog; plants bring a sense of garden while the couple wait for the landscaping to fully mature.

THIS PAGE (from left) Lucie, Amelia and Jack have their own space in the house; the stencilled cabinet is a family piece – an engagement present from Andrea’s grandfather to her grandmother after the war – and was restored by Hey Wilma. The house was designed to elbow around a sheltered deck; the distinctive front door handle was brought over in a suitcase from Australia. OPPOSITE The garden is gently terraced down from the garage, which is separate from the house and provides privacy to the street; the stool is from local store Veranda; the stone on the house is from a local quarry.

THIS PAGE The view looking up at the Hutchins’ property, which stretches all the way down to the road by the bay.