Joseph left the internal colour scheme to Ilona. Her monochromatic selections included alternating black and white stone benchtops, a jet black glass splashback, (which the kids love writing on with their flouro pens) and dark walnut stained flooring throughout.
The girls (3 & 7) were given the Resene colour chart and allowed to pick a colour each for one of their bedroom walls – predictably resulting in pink and purple!
Upon receiving Allan’s initial cost estimate it became clear that a priority list had to be drawn up and compromises made. The ‘must have’ items were reduced to the external vertical cedar cladding, the large format stacking sliding external doors and the engineered stone benchtops.
The modest budget wasn’t the only challenge; excavating into Onehunga’s volcanic rock, creating a usable layout on a small site, and moving into Allan’s apartment for three months of the build also had their moments.
Being a family project, Joseph and Allan built much of it themselves (with the help of the McKinstry Projects team of course). The result is a small but perfectly formed family home which they now enjoy immensely!