Outtakes: A Mount Maunganui marvel by Evan Mayo

Mount Maunganui is one of New Zealand's favourite summer destinations, but when Heather Coyne and Mark Winter asked Hamilton-based architect Evan Mayo of Architecture Bureau to design them a holiday home there, they never envisaged they'd end up moving there permanently. 

It's a credit to Evan's smart design that they did so. Heather and Mark found the single-level holiday house he created so pleasing that they decided to move there full-time. The main house, beautifully photographed by Florence Noble, features a handsome, compact, three-bedroom structure with high ceilings made from hoop-line plywood. Importantly, the property's original cottage was retained on the site, and now doubles as a home office and spare bedroom. It's visible in the right of the photo below, and is one of the few original dwellings remaining on the Mount Maunganui beachfront promenade.

The tyre-swing that hangs from the pohutukawa down the drive and the central decking between the original property and the modern building (below) perfectly respond to the brief of this holiday home being "a place for the kids to grow up" says Mark.

The view from the kitchen cleverly looks over the home's living and decking area so Heather and Mark can keep an eye on their grandchildren at play (below) and enjoy the sunshine when they feel like it.

The extended eave over the deck offers shade and shelter (below), while the deck integrates well with the surrounding landscaping, which expertly manages the transition from the lower-level carport to the home itself. Inside, clerestory windows on the home's western elevation allow good ventilation and afternoon light.

The living area features the Focus 'Ergofocus' fireplace designed by Dominique Imbert, which warms the area on cold winter nights. The pendant lights above the kitchen bench were purchased on TradeMe.

 

The shot below shows the connection between the open-plan living space and main bedroom and en suite. Two additional smaller bedrooms are tucked into the home's western side, but when no visitors are staying, the home feels like a simple apartment for Heather and Mark.

The retention of the original cottage (below) is a sympathetic masterstroke. On a street where a number of homes look like they're on steroids, Evan's sensitive design retains something of the diminutive age-old scale of this beachside community, as well as providing privacy for Heather and Mark's new home.

  

The following photograph is from just across the road from the house, with Mount Maunganui beach's wild-daisy covered dunes extending into the distance. 

 

Outtakes: A beautiful beach getaway by Min Hall

It's that time of year when we start fantasising about taking a break - not an all-action holiday, but something quiet and wintry that mostly involves reading books around a fire. This home by architect Min Hall in Golden Bay seems to fit that description perfectly.

First, the plan, which is interesting in its own right. Min broke the house into modules designed to fit around the trees. There is one living and dining area, another wing for the main bedroom and the third for guests (below). The sea is on the eastern boundary, or right-hand side of the plan.

The photograph below (all these images were taken by Paul McCredie) shows the approach to the house, where cars pull up to the back of the house. Min designed the home's modules to be clad in different materials to break up the bulk of the building even further. Covered walkways connect the home's different parts.

Inside, the house has elegantly simple aesthetics - only two pieces of art feature in the property, so not to distract from its surroundings -  yet there are some unique design elements which define the house.

The box window in the dining area (below) is likened to a museum display and exaggerates the feeling of looking inwards through the forest. A Simon James-designed 'Hawk' table accompanies seating by Marc Zuckerman and a smaller rustic 'Uma' bench by Chad Heays.

Huge folding doors off the living area allow a large panorama of the bay (below).

Perhaps even better is the view from the main bedroom where, at high tide, water gently laps on the shore just a few metres away. This is the kind of thing real holidays are made of - when staying in bed seems like one of the best ways to enjoy the views.

Home of the Year 2013: our new cover

We're delighted to announce that the winner of the Home of the Year 2013 is the beautiful Headland house on Waiheke Island by Stevens Lawson Architects. 

A photo by Mark Smith of the home's main bedroom, located in one of its three curvaceous pods, graces the cover of our special Home of the Year issue, which is on newsstands from Thursday April 4. 

Also in our Home of the Year issue: five amazing finalist homes in Auckland, Whanganui, Nelson, Christchurch and Wanaka. It's a great diversity of design which we're very proud to showcase for you in print for the first time. 

We'll post a short web film of the winning home on this site soon - stay tuned!  

This is the fourth time Stevens Lawson have won the Home of the Year award. Our congratulations to Nicholas Stevens, Gary Lawson and their team, who collect the $15,000 first prize. And, as always, our thanks to our Home of the Year partner Altherm Window Systems for their ongoing support of the Home of the Year award.