A Journey in Decision Making

The design decisions we make when we build a new home aren’t always based on fashion or finance. Sometimes they hark back to our childhood.

That’s what first-time builders Terri and Sam discovered when, along with the Box™ team, they started the process of conceptualising their new-build. “I grew up in red-brick houses and our first home together was a red brick ex-state house, so perhaps a feeling for red brick seeped into our subconscious,” says Terri.

The timber, which is used at the entrance and encases the upper bedroom level of the home, softens the brick. Pragmatism ruled in the choice of cladding, concrete floors (thermal mass) and carpets which are wool (for sustainability) in a forgiving speckled grey (cue three busy children and a dog). They also used New Zealand-made, wool-based insulation and there’s a fireplace with a wetback for water heating and the option to link it to solar panels in future. 

Ultimately, the owners have succeeded in building a new house that really feels like ‘home’ – using materials, colours and features that resonated with them and created a family environment very different from the majority of vanilla, modern family homes that are built today.