General Feel

Maclean opted to wrap the building in zincalume corrugate, or corrugated iron. “Dunedin is not the sunniest spot in the world. It rains a lot,” says Maclean. “So, having something that sort-of shimmed in the bush was quite attractive, rather than it being dark and stealth or another color that mimicked greenery.”

These stairs mimic the magic of "the ship"—a floating living room in the home— by appearing to float without support. "I drew the stairs like this, but I had no idea how to construct them," says architect and homeowner Pieter Weijnen, laughing. Project builder Jasper Kerkhofs came to the rescue, using two iron rods to fix each stair to the wall. Steel cables were added to guard the sides of the staircase.

Not everyone has a credibility bookcase. Your kids’ discarded toys and jackets may be strewn on the floor, or your roommate is in the throes of an online boxing class. Perhaps your cat is licking its unmentionables, and it’s not quite the scene you want to set for your one-on-one. Luckily, Zoom makes it easy to manifest the environment we want if the environment we have isn’t ideal. If you’ve ever wanted to dial in from a Dwell house, now’s your chance.

The aesthetic approach taken by Angerio Design assumes an attitude of balance; original 1890s finishes (wooden columns, beams, structural decking and brick bearing walls) are uncovered, preserved and displayed, and the interposition of more contemporary, volumetric forms establishes a contrast with those historic surfaces.

“We restored the fact that it was a courtyard open to the air,” says Slocum. “So when you walk out into the courtyard, if you look up, you're seeing sky.” Textured matte porcelain outdoor pavers from Tilebar surround a tree growing at the center.

A spacious sitting room features sliding glass doors that opens up to the rear terrace.

A Zen pebble garden on staircase landing, lit by a skylight above and circular apertures in the facade.

On the first storey, a seat is extruded into a platform that allows for ad-hoc, multipurpose use.

Lee Buchanan of Lee Build created a screen of white ash slats beside the kitchen as well as the entry. "The stairs are beautifully integrated into the kitchen so the kids and I are always talking and someone is always sitting on the bottom steps,

A plaster wall and tan ceramic floor tile in the primary bathroom help lighten the space while adding texture. The designers kept the original corrugated metal ceiling, opting to paint it white.

The loft get lots of natural daylight through three rows of windows. The stairway to the mezzanine originally had open treads, but Sims and Hanna closed them off and utilized the area underneath for storage. A new wooden dowel handrail complements the original pine floors.

In a small space with two cats, litter box solutions were top of mind. Hanna and Sims created an unobtrusive understair solution for Gus and Baloo.

The stairs also double as a seating platform.

In the living room, a Stûv fireplace sits near Lori’s favorite place to paint. “We made the southeast corner glass, because that’s where the best view is,” says BCJ principal Ray Calabro.