THE PROJECT

Jo and Blaise Chamberlain, owners of Concrete Masters, built this fourbedroom home in Christchurch’s Waimairi Beach for themselves and their children Taylor (17) and Tiago (14).

areas are contained within their own footprint on the ground floor, cavity sliders allowing these spaces to be opened or closed off, providing opportunities to congregate and seek solitude.

Thanks to its hero material, this abode was built more quickly than the average one. “It was incredibly exciting to watch it go up,” says Jo. “Having two 120-tonne cranes on site to take the concrete panels off the truck and put them in place was a sight that drew all the neighbours. Usually, the first floor of a home is built and everyone has time to adjust to that before you see the second storey, but we arrived with an 8.5m-tall tower in one go!”

To ensure the inside of the home matched their vision as completely, the couple engaged the services of interior experts Melissa and Jeff Merrin of Lume Design. “I know what I like, I just don’t know how to put it all together — and they did that and then some,” says Jo. “The beauty of using Lume is they design the entire interior, and having the whole project in mind saves expensive mistakes. Throughout the build, they were on site working alongside our builder and sub-trades to ensure everyone understood their plans. Melissa also got us out of our comfort zone with a few decisions along the way — such as the timber-look tiles in the ensuite — and she was right. It’s not about taking risks outside the things you like, but sometimes you’ve got to make a couple of brave decisions — and then they end up being the things everyone likes the most.”