A Canterbury couple spent an unexpected decade developing their own Grand Designs home where they can stand on their deck and shoot wild deer roaming in a private valley.
And while Jason and Megan Wood opted for their ambitious passion project to stay off the TV screens, they did enlist the expert help of builder Clive Barrington who was well used to building these elaborate and architecturally designed homes.
But due to unforeseen delays with the design and build, the Woods have spent more time planning and building their home than they have lived in it.
They are now selling their labour of love, which tested both their patience and budget, to be nearer to their teenage daughters’ school and activities in Christchurch.
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The couple first fell in love with a 4.38ha bare section in a sun-lit valley within a valley on Heaton Drive, in Tai Tapu, just a 30-minute drive from Christchurch, after the earthquakes in late 2010 and early 2011.
It was their second time building a home and they had set ideas about how they wanted the house to look drawing inspiration from an American architect. The decision to use natural materials such as cedar and stone was also inspired by Jason’s time working in Japan.
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“I had always wanted to build something cool – I don’t know if I would ever do it again. The last house I built, it was a nice house but it wasn’t a dream house and this was,” Jason Wood told OneRoof.
“You can buy certain houses anywhere, but when you are particularly entranced with a certain piece of land you have to build sympathetically to that otherwise you sort of waste your time.”
To realise their ambitious vision of a chalet-inspired home with large windows and high ceilings in the foothills of Christchurch, they first enlisted the help of a draughtsman and then an architect.
But after several years and tens of thousands dollars in fees, Wood said neither had been able to pull it off and they eventually found Stephen Fitzgerald, of SFA Studio, who spent two years completing the plans to a point that their builder was able to work with them.
Wood said having three different people attempt the plans had been a large part of the delays and why the home which they had expected to take them three to four years to design and build ended up taking 10.
The lounge has large floor-to-ceiling windows and uses natural materials including cedar and stone. Photo / Supplied
The kitchen has high-end appliances and a large scullery. Photo / Supplied
Once the plans were finalised Clive Barrington Builders, who had been building a copper home in Governors Bay that featured on Grand Designs at the same time, agreed to build their 486sqm home at a fixed price.
“The design concept was pretty crazy, there were a lot of challenges and they just took all the stress off us or as much as they could.”
The actual build took just under three years and the family finally moved into the property just before the country went into lockdown in 2020.
Wood said he couldn’t have been happier with the “phenomenal” build. The result was a luxurious five-bedroom, three-bathroom home with a gourmet kitchen, top-floor master bedroom, guest suite and even an upstairs living and library area. There was even a hidden door that led to a multi-purpose room, which they had used as both a spare room and also a sewing room and gym depending on their needs at the time. “It’s pretty crazy – we did some pretty cool stuff with it.”
The highest part of the ceiling in one part is nine metres tall. “It’s a huge open space in parts and then there’s snug areas for feeling a bit more cosy.”
Their personalised touches continued outside with a potager vegetable garden, an insulated playhouse and a wine deck up the hill for enjoying sunsets.
They also sought the help of interior designers and colour consultants to help with the final decisions for their masterpiece.
The upstairs area has its own library. Photo / Supplied
And while the property ended up ticking every single one of their boxes and was meant to be their forever home, Wood said the delays meant that the home they had planned for their children to grow up in effectively hadn’t been ready until they were almost teenagers.
“It’s a bittersweet thing to be selling and moving to be honest. We know we are giving up a lot, but both the kids go into town to school every day and they’ve only really known living out in Tai Tapu or on that piece of land. They are chomping at the bit to get into town and I guess we are just doing it for family,” he said.
It was a home that would suit both families and - due to the inclusion of the lift - downsizers who wanted enough room for family to stay.
“You feel like you are away from it all. Even Tai Tapu as a village feels like that from Christchurch. Tai Tapu is quite a cool wee town and to just be out the back of Otahuna Lodge there in the hills, you just feel like you are a world away. It’s amazing”
“At night time you don’t see any light – it’s completely black. I always thought you would feel quite isolated but you feel safe.”
The wildlife was “insane”, he said, adding that at certain times of the year wild deer can be seen roaming around the property almost every night.
“I shot three [deer] in one night just sitting on the deck.”
Bayleys agent Chris Jones said it was an extremely unique property and he hadn’t seen anything like it either in Canterbury or anywhere in New Zealand.
The unique 4.38ha lifestyle property sits in a valley within a valley. Photo / Supplied
“It’s in a great way unusual. A lot of people just end up taking a normal home and making it a bit bigger and a bit fancier – this is something pretty unique.”
While four of the rooms were definite bedrooms, he said there were several other rooms that could cleverly be used as either living spaces or additional bedrooms. “It could be four bedrooms or six bedrooms depending on how you wanted to do it ... Flexibility is a big one on it.”
Jones said people who usually put themselves through this much pain to build something significant usually stayed there to enjoy it for many years and it was only because of the age and stage of the owners’ kids that they were selling.
“It’s one of the first post-earthquake homes of this scale that we know of to have come on the market in this location.”
So far interest had come from expats in the US, people wanting to move from the CBD for more space and Aucklanders looking to relocate.
“Someone or hopefully more than one are absolutely going to fall in love with it. Everyone is going to be impressed with it, but the right person is going to love it.”
He was unable to give a price indication because of how unique it was. “It’s not like a house in Rolleston where it’s easy to value.”
- 4/82 Heaton Drive, Tai Tapu, is for sale by way of deadline, closing October 16
