Small but perfectly formed
The Shaw family home in Martinborough is about half the size of most houses built today. But it’s of proportions the owners find conducive to comfortable and affordable living, writes
THE SHAW’S 90-square-metre house is a small Martinborough character but of a style architects say is the way of the future. Not that this family bought the home wanting to trend set, they simply looked in their modest price bracket and were gobsmacked with the quality their budget could buy in Wairarapa.
‘‘Really we’ve done very little to the house,’’ Andy Shaw says. ‘‘We moved over from Lyall Bay, our house in Wellington was in a great location but it was damp and causing asthma. We initially planned to build, that’s what happens when you watch too many episodes of Grand Designs, we looked at the numbers and time involved and rethought our plans.’’
It’s two years since the Shaws bought and in that time they have insulated the ceiling and underfloor and Andy is gradually painting the exterior between work assignments, inclement weather and most recently the birth of the second child.
‘‘It’s a 1940s weatherboard house, an ex-state house, we’ve looked at photos from the 1940s that clearly show the house so we are quite certain of its age. It had been a rental when we bought so came with a few dents and scrapes but nothing major. The configuration of two bedrooms, a bathroom, lounge, kitchen and dining area, which are all separate really works for us.’’
For many, 90 square metres would be impossibly compact family living, but for Andy and Adri moving from a 70-square-metre home in Lyall Bay, they find the house of luxurious size.
‘‘It’s got everything we need and we’re confident it will provide comfortable living for at least the next decade. The children will share a bedroom, I remember having friends at school who shared their bedroom and it always seemed fun, plenty happening, just a fun bedroom space to go into with bunks, that sort of thing.’’
The kitchen is the original, on one wall a stainless steel benchtop over solid timber cabinetry and traditional taps, and on the opposite wall a native timber work bench above cabinetry that includes the traditional bread bins; and above a wall of shallow cupboards, of a depth that does not impede working on the bench.
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