A New Zealand building couple made their show home so beautiful they moved in themselves! What makes a house feel like home at first sight?

The house we are introducing today is the second family home built by a couple who run a building company. Drawing on lessons from their first home and taking inspiration from the surrounding landscape, they created a perfect family home that makes you want to settle in for good.

 

Meet the owners

 

Mike and Kristina Lowe run McBrimar Homes in sunny Oamaru, on New Zealand's South Island. They recently moved with their children, Austin and Maggie, into this home, which combines modern style with a warm family atmosphere.

 

 

Interestingly, this semi-rural, four-bedroom house was originally the company's show home. Just a few weeks earlier, the couple had celebrated their wedding, held their pre-wedding parties and rehearsal dinner at the house, and stayed a few nights. After that, they never wanted to leave. Mike said: “I think after staying here for a few nights, it was hard not to want to move in. Now this house is our home.”

 

Today, we explore what makes this house so special that even its builders wanted to live in it, and pick up some practical home-building tips along the way.

 

The design approach

 

As industry professionals with experience gained from building their first home, they had a clear vision for this house: a modern design with an exterior that sat comfortably within the rural landscape and alongside the other homes their company was developing.

 

Mike and Kristina enjoy holidays in Queenstown and often drive around Jacks Pt looking at houses, which provided plenty of design inspiration. To create a home with a contemporary Queenstown feel, they chose James Hardie's Oblique™ weatherboards.

 

Mike had always dreamed of a black house, so they painted the exterior Oblique™ weatherboards black. The result is stylish and striking, while blending beautifully with Oamaru's natural landscape and the neighbourhood they are developing.

 

 

Combining black weatherboards with timber cladding adds visual interest to the exterior. Meanwhile, James Hardie's Oblique™ weatherboards are also durable and low maintenance.

 

 

Mike and Kristina said:
“Owning a building company means we know James Hardie products very well, and we're big fans because they require little maintenance and come with long warranties. When we built our first home, we used Linea™ weatherboards to create a contemporary villa feel. This time, we wanted to try a more modern Queenstown style. Oblique™ weatherboards were a perfect fit. We love the choice of widths, and they work really well with black paint too.”

 

James Hardie's Oblique™ weatherboards come in two widths and can be installed horizontally or vertically, helping you create a distinctive look and design. They can be used for colourful feature walls, full exterior cladding on new builds, exterior walls on renovations and extensions, or interior feature walls. Whether your design is classic or contemporary, Oblique™ weatherboards can help bring your vision to life. That is the advantage of high-quality fibre cement boards.

 

Home-building tips

 

This is the second time Mike and Kristina have moved into a home they built themselves. As experienced builders, they have some advice for others planning to build:

 

Involve your builder early and avoid seeking too many opinions

 

Mike and Kristina recommend involving a builder early to gain a realistic understanding of costs and avoid major redesigns once pricing comes in. Avoid seeking too many opinions, as this can overcomplicate things. Everyone has different ideas, and too many competing views can weaken the result.

 

 

Complete the landscaping in good time

 

Mike and Kristina believe it is important to finish the landscaping before moving in. They have seen many completed houses with unfinished landscaping, and say you can only fully appreciate the results of your hard work when everything is done. Completing the landscaping in good time enhances the home's appearance and gives residents a comfortable outdoor living space.

 

Allow room for specific needs

 

When designing and building a home, setting aside space for specific needs is also a wise choice. Mike and Kristina forgot to leave enough room in the garage for a golf simulator, their only regret about the house. Planning around your lifestyle also opens up more possibilities for the future.

 

Mike and Kristina's home is more than a modern house; it reflects the warmth of their family life. From choosing high-quality building materials to creating versatile spaces with careful attention to detail, their approach offers plenty of valuable design ideas. But the exterior is only part of the home's appeal: the interior is just as impressive.

Want to discover Mike and Kristina's secrets for creating their interior? Looking for ways to add personality and texture to your home? Scan the code to follow James Hardie New Zealand's official WeChat account, where you will find the answers in the next article this month.

If you are interested in Oblique™ weatherboards, visit the official Chinese-language website for more product information.