A handcrafted lifestyle property built with bits and pieces from around New Zealand has hit the market for sale with a $4.57 million price tag.
But if the unusual straw bale home, its unique feather lampshades, pipe extraction fan and large wire sculptures in the garden don’t catch people’s attention, its impressive location, looking out of Lake Hayes, near Queenstown, will.
Lee and Jaap van der Geest purchased the family home at 48 Rutherford Road, in Lake Hayes Estate, 21 years ago after returning from France.
They had been living across the lake in a home they had purchased from Lee’s parents when they fell in love with the incomplete straw bale home on a 4056sqm lifestyle section just a five-minute drive from Arrowtown.
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“We saw this and were like ‘this is it’,” Lee told OneRoof.
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“It was just so random. We had never seen anything like it. It was quite a unique house. We knew it had potential and the location was great.”
It also appealed to their artistic nature.
“Being arty I was like, ‘OMG we can make this really cool’. Just seeing that it was a really fun house to work with,” Lee said.
“There are no straight lines in the house. Everything is curved and wonky, which is fun.”
Wood reclaimed from an old woolshed was used for the beams and old pipes found in the garden were upcycled to create the unique extractor fan in the kitchen. Photo / Supplied
The previous owners had abandoned their five-year dream of building an eco-conscious straw bale home to embark on a new adventure in Uganda. They had built a quirky one-bedroom, one-bathroom cottage and were three-quarters of the way through building the main three-bedroom, one-bathroom home when they sold it.
“The house is pretty random – straw bale and lots of bridge beams and all sorts of recycled timbers. Most things are recycled and the insulation is wool and it’s just a super healthy house.”
Materials had been sourced from all over and included Chinese front doors, old radiators from a private girls’ boarding house, internal doors from a post office, Glenorchy slate around the fireplace and ceiling beams reclaimed from a wool shed they dismantled on their honeymoon.
The upstairs lounge boasts impressive views of Lake Hayes and the surrounding mountains. Photo / Supplied
The van der Geests were left with the job of finishing the home, which still had some exposed walls and did not have an entranceway, upstairs room and garage. They also had the fun job of decorating the inside of the house.
The couple continued repurposing materials and the result is a raft of bespoke handcrafted items including a solid wood dining table Lee made from leftover wood and salvaged materials. The numerous feather light shades hanging from the ceiling are made from feathers plucked from the neighbour’s roosters after they had been run over.
Even the unique pipe extractor fan in the kitchen has a story with Lee recalling how an Irish woofer who stayed with them for four months crafted it out of materials he found in the garden.
“It’s completely random, but it works and it’s fantastic.”
Although Lee admitted to having cleared away about 75% of her artwork usually on display in the house, her impressive willow and large wire animal sculptures are on display in the gardens.
A quirky one-bedroom, one-bathroom cottage was built before the main house was constructed. Photo / Supplied
Since Covid she has also converted the upstairs lounge into a workshop where she runs classes teaching how to make wire kiwis, rabbits or dogs.
The former florist started using willow, bones and driftwood but found it too “seasonal” so eventually settled on using wire.
The couple have loved raising their two now adult children in the home, but are now ready to move somewhere warmer. They fell in love with Russell when they house sat for a friend and now plan to build a Balinese-style villa there.
“We’ve got plants everywhere in this house hanging from the ceiling. I wanted to make it look tropical – I just love the warmth.”
“I just love living in this house. The kitchen is fantastic because it looks out over the lake,” she said.
“It’s just the whole character. I know we will never get anything else like it again. It’s been quite special living here.”
She said it would suit someone “a bit quirky and arty”.
“It’s definitely not a cookie-cutter house. Everything is odd so it needs someone who just appreciates a bit of randomness really.”
Cam Winter of Oliver Road Luxury Real Estate, who is marketing the property, said the home had real personality, which was something a lot of more modern builds lacked.
The unique property was attracting a broad range of buyers. Some saw the opportunity to continue to improve and enhance it over time, while for others the opportunity of earning income from its guest cottage was a big drawcard, he said.
"I can’t wait to meet the eventual buyer; hopefully they’ll be as weird and wonderful as the property itself!"
- 48 Rutherford Street, in Lake Hayes, is for sale with an asking price of $4.57m
