- A Cambridge couple is selling their unique home designed by architect Christopher Beer.
- The two-bedroom house, awarded Home of the Year in 2017, features red bricks and cedar.
- Bayleys agent Sacha Webb says the property has attracted significant interest, with over 100 attendees at the first open home.
A Cambridge couple who gave their architect mate free rein to design their family home 10 years ago are now selling the one-of-a-kind property.
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The standout two-bedroom house sits on a sliver of land next to a gin distillery and a supermarket on Alpha Street.
It’s largely hidden from view, but those who’ve been lucky enough to see it are impressed. It was awarded Home of the Year in 2017 and is the work of architect Christopher Beer.
Artist Grant Jack and his teacher wife Karen had been looking at all sorts of properties when they spotted the unusually shaped 314sqm section for sale beside New World.
“It didn’t really look like anything, but it had a For Sale sign on it,” Grant said.
The red bricks run from the exterior of the home right through to the interior. Photo / Supplied
A mix of natural materials, including cedar, has been used in the home to break up the plain GIB plasterboard walls. Photo / Supplied
Beer agreed the site had potential for something different. "It is kind of hard to find the perfect place in a small town, but this was interesting - for us and for Chris.”
For the first few years, Jack ran a hole-in-the-wall coffee shop from the house and a gallery, Drawings.co.nz. He has since closed both, but he has turned the front room into his studio.
Grant said the house was only 158sqm in size, but the way the rooms opened onto the courtyards made the property feel much bigger.
“The whole place is design-led, but it’s not trying to be luxurious. The luxury is in the spaces if you like,” he said.
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The red bricks, unwanted from a Tamahere retirement village project, feature on the exterior and interior walls and even in the kitchen splashback.
They used cedar in some of the walls to break up the gib board and a selection of timbers and slate tiles to create a natural feel.
“We are right in town; people walking past all the time, but they can’t see in. Once you get in here, there’s lots of light - it works really well.”
He added: “When we first built, we got a lot of comments and things. People either like it or find it weird.”
The unique property has a range of opportunities including running a hole in the wall coffee shop from the front of it. Photo / Supplied
What the house looks like from the street. Photo / Supplied
Grant said he would miss having a supermarket and restaurants on their doorstep. “We are near a gym, a restaurant and shopping – everything is a three-minute walk away, and it’s a cool spot.”
However, Grant said both he and Karen and their teenage daughter had decided it was time for a change. The plan was to move to a 5000sqm lifestyle block with a bit more space.
Bayleys agent Sacha Webb said the property was such a fantastic design and had been getting a lot of attention, with more than 100 people turning up to the first open home. “It was chocka,” she told OneRoof.
“So many people knew about the house, had read about the house when it was House of the Year, so it was really just coming to see what it was all about, and people’s reactions were, ‘Wow’.”
Webb said the property could suit a range of buyers, including families, couples and people wanting to run a business from their home. She said it was difficult to put a price on the home, adding that the tender process would help gauge where buyers thought the value sat. The RV is just over $1m.
- 90 Alpha Street, Cambridge, Waipa, is for sale, tender closing May 21
