Builder Dylan Cossey is no stranger to high-stakes renovations. Cossey took part in the fifth season of The Block NZ and is better known to Kiwis as "Big Dyls".
He’s spent the last two years building his dream home with wife Libby and their two young children, Bloem and Oakley. And now he’s itching to do it again, putting their four-bedroom retreat in Napier on the market for sale with Ray White.
Cossey first spoke about building a home on a quarter-acre section with enough room for a dog to run around back in 2016, when he was hard at work with The Block teammate Dylan “Little Dylz” Guitink in Auckland’s Meadowbank.
His home 29 Warwick Crescent, in Taradale, is the realisation of that dream. The luxury property, which sits on 865sqm, comes with a self-contained sleepout and inground pool with splash pad.
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The Cosseys bought the property in August 2020 for $680,000. Back then, the site was home to a 1960s bungalow and the Cosseys were looking to rent it out. A few years later they moved into it after getting an out-of-the-blue offer to purchase their existing home, which they had just finished doing up.
The couple made the decision to shift to Warwick Crescent because they loved the area and its proximity to Mission Estate and Church Road wineries.
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But what started out as just another renovation turned into a new build after quotes to move the bungalow to a more desirable location blew out to about $100,000.
The Cosseys sold the bungalow to a mate for $30,000, who took it away on a truck, and they started on their dream build. “As it drove out of the driveway, we went ‘OMG this is a massive section. What have we done?’,” Cossey told OneRoof.
Cossey’s mum lent the family her caravan to live in and once the pool house was built at the rear of the 856qm section they relocated there, which is where they were living when Oakley was born. A puppy was also added to the mix. “We literally lived on a building site. My kids used the frames as jungle gyms,” he said.
The Cosseys put a lot of thought into the look and the styling of the house. Photo / Supplied
The build took the family 18 months to complete. Photo / Supplied
“Everyone had unanimously said to my wife, ‘You are so lucky to have a builder for a husband’, but she mucked in equally probably more so than I did.
“Every time I look at the house I just think of how hard my wife worked... We put the kids to sleep and would go and build until midnight.”
Skills learned on The Block came in handy, he said, especially when it came to decorating the interiors.
“I went onto The Block and I was this burly builder that went in and I could throw frames up. I could build the structure, but I didn’t realise how important interior design was,” he said.
Cossey and his two children take a break during the build. Photo / Supplied
The family lived in a caravan at the start of the project. Photo / Supplied
Once the previous home was taken away the family had to buckle down and get started on their new-build. Photo / Supplied
“You could put a room together really nicely, but if it didn’t have any bells or whistles or little knick-knacks or artwork on the walls, it just didn’t feel like a home – it feels like a place.”
The couple opted for a coastal vibe using light oak cabinetry, gold tapware and “calming neutral colours”, while the “bells and whistles” included a surround sound system, voice command by Alexa, and automated gates.
“We also wanted to feel like we were at the beach or very close to the coast and Napier is a coastal town anyway, but we wanted to bring the beach to us so that’s what we did.”
However, after completing the build last year, the family is eager to tackle another project.
“We were like, ‘This is a bit boring. Let’s do something else’. That’s what led to us putting it on the market,” Cossey told OneRoof.
The Cossey family is ready to tack another renovation. Photo / Supplied
“It was quite an unsettling feeling having nothing to do.”
They were already looking for an old wool shed on a rural property where their kids and dog would have even more room to run and play.
And while they are keen to move, Cossey said 29 Warwick Crescent was a great house with a good vibe that would always hold special memories for them. “It’s going to make someone a fantastic forever home, for us forever just came slightly sooner than forever.”
Ray White listing agent Tracey Campbell said it was a unique property. "He's just gone above and beyond. Everything has been thought out. When you walk through the gates into the property - this is how I feel - I feel like I'm literally in a resort. I don't want to leave."
She said it would be the perfect home for a family that loved entertaining. "It really is focused on living around the outdoor kitchen and the pool."
Additionally, the pool house provided an additional self-contained living space, which could suit intergenerational living or be used as an Airbnb.
- 29 Warwick Crescent, in Taradale, Napier, is for sale by negotiation
