Petre/Fanning house, Matakana 2002
In 2002, having spent 10 years living in Auckland I decided to return to a more rural way of living.
I saw an ad for an abandoned small homestead on 2ha of land a short distance from the then ‘very sleepy’ village of Matakana. The ad described the house as “A handyman’s wife’s nightmare”. The price had been nearly halved as the vendor presumed whoever brought it would burn it down and start from scratch. I ended up buying the first and only house I inspected and as an ‘unmarried handyman’ at the time I figured the ad didn’t apply to me!
This was the beginning of a journey that has taken 21 years to date. An opportunity to put into practice a design philosophy associated with living and working within a rural environment.
The approach centred around creating a ‘community’ of structures where the space within, around and between receives equal attention and consideration is given to all the sensors – a common theme in all MPD projects.
The House
The first stage required making the derelict homestead habitable. Once work began it soon became clear that the advertised 1940’s bungalow was in fact an early colonial cottage dating back to 1860, 2 story, pit sawn Kauri with hand forged nails. In 1940 the top story was removed and double hung windows replaced for bungalow style and the existing verandas closed in.
2002 a complete renovation was undertaken, the interior gutted with the majority of walls removed, and we started again. Re-piled, rewired, replumbed, exterior doors added to every room bar one. Covered verandas added to 3 sides and window walls to create sheltered outdoor space. This effectively doubled the size of the original 110 sqm house.
In conjunction with the house renovation, the 2 ha of land was divided into 3 paddocks with deciduous shade trees. A large wetland was planted with 7000 native plants.
The Tractor Shed
Originally dirt floor with kerosoted weatherboards and unlined interiors, this space was ‘made good’ with the addition of a concrete floor, insulated and lined ceilings/walls becoming my workshop and art studio.
It was then extended with the addition of a guest room and deep covered veranda with window wall for shelter.
The studio was further extended to add additional studio space for my partner, fellow artist Vicki Fanning.
The space between
Large vegetable and flower gardens have been created along with a productive orchard.
A large table under a shade tree and a sheltered area with seating and firepit becomes a focus when we have family and friends to stay.
To accommodate extras we have planted a grid of Poplar trees to create a shaded campground and built 2 guest pods, one on the edge of the wetland area and one in the centre of the Poplar grid.
A shared passion for the arts has seen Vicki and I continue to enrich the various spaces on the property. These spaces are never created without consideration for the inclusion of art.
PROJECT DETAILS: 2002-present
DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION: Mike Petre Design and friends.
PHOTOGRAPHY: Jonny Davis