House of the week

Rising in several levels above a section of native bush, where kereru glide, fantails flit and possums shelter at night, is a house that has served three generations.

It has been through some changes of livery since it was first built in 1976-77. Some have been through choice and changing tastes, or the different requirements of a growing family. Other changes have been foisted upon it, not least being the radical structural shake-up caused by the 2010-11 Canterbury earthquakes.

But judging by the before-and-after pictures, it is improving with every facelift. The house belongs to John Chaplin, of Chaplin Crooks Architects, and his wife, Eve. They raised their daughter and son here and now their grandchildren come to stay.

When John designed it, he had just set up his architectural draughting business, and he fitted building the house around building up his new business.

These days, the house treads a subtle path between elegance and comfort. It is sleek and modern, while still warm and enveloping. However, compare its appearance now with its appearance in earlier years and it is obvious it has kept march with architectural advancements, as well as the family's changing tastes and needs.

The section on which the Chaplins built is high on an eyrie-like lookout in Mt Pleasant. It called for a house that would bed into the hillside, while honouring its prime north-west location, facing a broad expanse of beach and a view across to Southshore and the far horizon.

The original home had two storeys, windows of different sizes and heights, and a small deck out front. And, reflecting the tenor of the times, it had a dark-stained board-and-batten clad exterior with colour highlights inside – burnt orange and a splash of purple. It was rustic-rough on the outside with high-colour interior glazes, like the favoured pottery of the time.

In the 1980s, the Chaplins closed in the upper deck to create a conservatory, added a cosy upstairs lounge above the living room and made more of the windows. Close native planting was also beginning to encroach on the home.

By the 1990s, the entire interior was revamped and things took a Dynasty turn in dramatic white. A huge curved window swept across the front of the living room and looked out on to the wooden deck now in place. A smooth white vaulted ceiling in the living room and kitchen area replaced the exposed beams and pitched roof. The kitchen and bathrooms were modernised and extensive landscaping was undertaken.

Then came the earthquakes, during which Mt Pleasant sustained major damage. The homes of many of the Chaplins' neighbours were ruined and their own required extensive attention.

Now, though, with the repairs done and some other opportune changes made, the house is rejuvenated and has morphed into an easy amalgam of sleek utility and comfortable entertaining areas that work well for the maturing family and their guests.

The exterior is painted a soft, uniform grey and this is complemented inside by subtle dove greys and monochromatic tiles and surface finishes. Some splashes of colour remain, but the predominant greys set a calm mood throughout.

Nuanced light is an undefined, yet prominent feature. The double-height atrium leads to three different levels, each with various skylights, low or high windows, sliding glass doors or wall cut-outs serving the dual purpose of illumination and allowing the warmth from the gas heater in the lounge, the heat pumps and the sun to circulate.

The house has two lounges. In the formal one downstairs, a super-strength steel H-beam, put in after the quakes, acts as a dynamic visual feature as well as a practical element, providing strength for the entire horizontal plane. This room opens to decks on both sides, enabling it to accommodate dozens of people for a party when the need arises, while still being separate from the family spaces upstairs.

The back deck, which is sheltered from the rampant easterlies, has a tiled barbecue area with a tinkling water feature, while the front deck of softly aged wood, with its inbuilt shaped seating, adds dimension to the front of the house. A terraced path winds down through the bush at the front to the raised garden beds below.

The master bedroom is on the lower level, along with private ensuite, wardrobe room, adjacent (work-in-progress) office and separate toilet plus basin for visitors. Where once the bedroom featured an over-scale wine-red headboard, these days it is slick black, with black-and-white manchester and cool paintwork. Gone, too, are the former overhead beams and tongue-and-groove ceiling. Now, it is smooth, simplified and classic. The glass in each of the French doors that lead on to the deck slide up and down to let in the breezes.

The grey floor tiles in the ensuite match those throughout the rest of the house, which vary only in size (500sq mm to 900sq mm) or substance (ceramic or porcelain). Elsewhere, the flooring is grey carpet.

The Chaplins chose to retain the striking wall of decorative pale and dark blue glass tiles in the ensuite and it provides colour among the largely monochromatic theming. The zigzag pattern of the tiles alludes to the distant waves and provides privacy and light. Vertically striped ceramic tiles in black and white surround the basin, while in the main bathroom upstairs, the same stripes are horizontal.

There are two guest bedrooms and bathroom on the top floor, but the living area, with kitchen, semi-detached lounge and sofas arranged to enjoy the spectacular views, make up the undisputed heart of the home.

John computer-designed the family's contemporary, purpose-built kitchen, with its wide expanse of bench, views of the hills and ample natural light, as well as recessed LED lighting on each side of the vaulted ceiling. The spacious laundry is in an adjacent room.

Over the years, John and Eve have opted to stay put, instead of moving to rebuild. As an architect, John has enjoyed using the house as a means of self-expression and as something to experiment upon. It has also been a three-dimensional example of ideas to show his clients from time to time.

With the earthquake repairs done, the house is pristine and comfortable in its latest incarnation and it seems to fit the landscape even better than before. Back in the mid-1980s, the Chaplins and a neighbour jointly bought a lower adjoining section. They divided the land between them and planted it in native bush, with a few olive trees for tonal variety. The bush has matured and filled out into a protective green screen and delightful, private sanctuary.

A variegated pohutukawa right at the edge of the deck might have blocked the view once, but its canopy has been raised and the view is again paramount. Who knows what other changes the pohutukawa might witness in its lifetime, but right now the house is settling into its latest costume and the fantails, bellbirds and possums are peaceful residents in the bush below.