An award-winning home, Nick Holcroft has one piece of advice for anyone considering a new house project: “Involve your builder as early as you can.” But, then, of course he would say that – Holcroft is a builder himself, and that award-winning house is one of his own.

Sited on Hamilton’s River Road with glimpses of the mighty Waikato from upstairs, the Kris Wilson-designed house packs a lot into its tight 400 square metre site, with four bedrooms upstairs, a home theatre, kitchen and lounge below, plus a sun-trap of an outdoor living area and a small pool.

That none of this feels at all cramped or ‘squeezed-in’ is due to some clever planning and architectural smarts on the part of Wilson, working in close collaboration with his builder-client. The interior palette is restricted to black and white set against oak floors, while the living area combines a high stud with full-height glazing that meets the ceiling seamlessly. Large sliding doors open the room to the outdoors. 

One of those sliders is an over-the-wall product from the APL Architectural Series, but most of the joinery here is from the Metro Series, finished in matt black powdercoat with Urbo hardware. The entrance is via an extra high glass Plasma door, which allows for some privacy from the busy road.

As with all the elements of this deceptively simple house, those joinery choices were highly considered. “That’s part of the whole composition; it’s all about making them work with the other materials,” says Wilson.