Timeless Double Gable Home in Wanaka

Having already developed a home in Wanaka’s Bull Ridge subdivision, builder Nathan Simon had firm ideas about the sort of house he wanted to construct on a neighbouring section. 

“We had developed and lived in the house next door on the street, so buying the neighbouring section allowed an upgrade in section size and the move for a bigger house,” Nathan said. “We wanted a two-gable style build because the first home was mono-pitch so we wanted something different but we still wanted to use the same claddings.” He also wanted the exterior materials – schist and vertical cedar cladding – to transition indoors. 

“I wanted to use cedar on a few internal walls down the hallway, one wall had the entry door into the garage. This allowed the creation of a hidden door using the vertical lines of the timber to blend with the door opening. It has become a real talking point with the house.”  He added: “We also matched black brick-like tiles in the bathrooms and kitchen to mimic the bag-washed black brick block outside.” 

The home’s clean lines and colour scheme are complemented by the roof in Trimrib 5 Rib in ‘Ebony’. 

Cam Dunnage, of Next Level Design, who helped Nathan realise his vision for the double- gable design, said the initial idea was to use an alpine tray for the roofing but Trimrib was chosen because it was more cost-effective and a material that roofers were more familiar with and was easier to install and flash. 

Indoors, the tones of the cedar cladding are complemented by the warm colours of wooden floors (in the living area) and the wooden cabinetry and shelving. As part of getting the colour scheme right, Nathan was also particular about the type of schist he wanted. 
“With the stone I really like the blues and greens of Gibbston valley schist rather than the local stone which has a lot more brown in it. Myself and the stonemason made a trip over and hand-picked feature rocks including the stone mantle above the fireplace.” 

Cam said of the design process: “When Nathan first came to me, he had already been to an architect and had something designed for the site and he asked me if I could do consent plans and arrange an engineer to sort the structure, however Nathan wasn’t happy with the way it looked and asked if I would design something. 

Cam added, “I stayed at his place nextdoor while we worked on the design and that allowed me to get to know the area and the views, and to take surrounding photos so I could model the house up with 360-degree views, this gives the ability to see what views you have from all windows while designing. 

“Nathan also took me around other houses in the subdivision to picked and chose the styles and elements he liked.” Cam said his brief from Nathan was to design a home with living to one side and the bedrooms to the other and it had to be a specific square metreage to stay within budget. 

Nathan also wanted the mountain views captured, which is typified by a glazed end wall in the lounge with views either side of the schist chimney Cam said he came up with a design with two gabled wings joined by a double-storey centre section but when that exceed the budget so the central section was made a single- storey mono-pitch but with a slightly larger footprint.

The eastern wing has living, kitchen and dining spaces, while through the central section are two bedrooms, a TV room and the main bathroom. The western gable contains a double garage on the street frontage, and two bedrooms including a master with ensuite. Off this wing is a carport suitable for housing a boat.
Cam said the double gable home fits with the architecture of the neighbourhood and has a timeless look.

Also driving the design brief was Nathan’s desire for a home with street appeal and a firm presence. “We wanted to invest in an entrance that looks great from the street. So we designed a flat roof entrance coming out of the gable, clad in stone. To create the flat roof with fall, we ended up with a deep fascia with a negative detail through the middle to stop any oil canning, 

“It looks great.”

“I also don’t like flat barge flashing so we have a 50 x 40 box profile that eliminates any canning of the barges. I also had the gutters custom-made square with 30 x 20 box profile to match the gable barges.” 

All these elements create strong, clean lines from the street although Cam said they were a challenge to detail and execute – but he and Nathan worked together to solve any problems. Within the home, Nathan said he wanted to create a sense of space as you entered. 

“The main feature of the house is in the dining room and the vaulted ceiling with which I decided to create the tongue and groove ceiling with exposed beams look. This also goes into the stone fireplace with full height windows looking north and onto the reserve.”

Skylights over the hallway and a high slot window over the kitchen help to fill the home with light. A window over the oven in the kitchen breaks up the solidness of the space and opens up a view to the entrance.