Country: Where town meets country

By SHARON NEWEY.

Draw back the glass walls and talk to the cows from the comfort of this cleverly designed home.

Minimalist architecture and country living are concepts that would seem at odds with each other.

But when you consider the simplicity of forms and materials that go to make up the quintessential Kiwi barn, this stunning long and low house, designed by architect Noel Lane, couldn't be anywhere else.

With more than a passing nod to its rural setting, the house has been a beloved home to product and graphic designer Peter Haythornthwaite and his wife Carol for three years.

Before its creation, they lived with their sons in a barn-like structure - a red cottage and barn with self-contained living, loft bedrooms and garaging, which sits across the manuka-dotted stream from the new house. It is perfect guest accommodation and would be great for homestays.

The new house's simple L-shape floats on a slender moat of pebbles and lies almost flush with the shimmering pasture that surrounds it. This nestling of architecture into the land is not only to lessen its impact, but has a more direct explanation.

Says Peter: "We wanted to sit inside and be able to talk to the cows." They can certainly do that. They can also draw back the glass walls of the living pavilion and let in more of nature's offerings, from the sun and summer breezes to the call of the many birds.

For sun control, large translucent blinds can be drawn.

In an ideal melding of town and country, the house is set on 4.9ha of land not far from Hobsonville village. At the end of an oak-lined driveway, it borders the estuary, looking east and north with glimpses of Waitemata Harbour.

The house is split into two pavilions - one for living and the other for sleeping - split by a spacious foyer with magnificent pivoting doors at each end and a trickle of river pebbles running through it.

Outside, tree ferns, cycads and mosses live happily on one side of the front path, while on the other side, goldfish dodge the attentions of the local shag population in a large square pond.

The living pavilion is light and airy, held up visually and structurally by an impressive skeleton of steel girders. These are in paradox with the virtually fully glazed walls. Massive sliding doors pull back for a fudging of the lines between inside and out. The simple, gabled roofline continues outside for some metres to provide shelter for an outdoor dining patio.

At one end, a formal sitting area is made private by the centrally placed kitchen. With furniture-like cabinets designed by Peter, the kitchen is a mix of European beech and stainless steel, with a stainless-steel island bench housing the large Miele hob top. A double-door Gaggenau fridge and rangehood and a Miele oven complete the appliance selection.

The rest of the living pavilion is delicately defined into dining and sitting spaces by beech cabinetry, serving as both sideboard and shelving units.

The sleeping pavilion is designed to cater for any family make-up. At the far end, the master suite can be closed off to include a bedroom and full bathroom. The bath is a rectangular work of art, made of plywood and sitting solo in the middle of the floor.

Halfway along the pavilion, two bedrooms sit opposite a large multi-purpose room. At the moment, it serves as studio space for Peter, but would be a perfect teen retreat or playroom.

Another bedroom opens to the space, and a fifth bathroom sits off the hall next to the large laundry. The main bathroom has a vivid yellow wall in the shower and Vola tapware. The separate toilet has Philippe Starck ceramic-ware.

The colour palette and materials are purposefully restricted - all of the timber is European beech, floors are gymnasium-strength beech, ground concrete or sisal, the exterior is clad in Zincalume and the joinery is a burnished aluminium.

There is an oversize triple garage next to the house, two water tanks and an implement shed.

Leaving their treasured house will not be easy for Peter and Carol. Although planned as a family home, its good design and flexible spaces mean anyone could live here and fall in love with rural life.

Vital statistics:

ADDRESS: 145 Clark Rd, Hobsonville.

FEATURES: Main house, designed by Noel Lane, has five bedrooms, two bathrooms, large studio or teen retreat, two living spaces and cabinetry designed by Peter Haythornthwaite. Second house has two
living areas, loft bedrooms and attached garaging. Triple garage; implement shed.

SIZE: Land 4.9ha; main house 285sq m; red cottage and barn approx 240sq m plus garage.

AUCTION: At 2pm on 29 May at Bayleys Head Office, Viaduct Harbour.

CONTACT: Ken Gill, Bayleys, West Harbour. Ph 416 7788 bus; 372 5311 ah; 021 970 357 mob.