Building my family home in the place I love has been one of my most rewarding projects. This project gave me the opportunity to implement all that I have learnt about sustainable building and modern living over the last 20 years of building.
Located in my personal slice piece of paradise, it was important that our home maximised the breathtaking Glenorchy landscapes. Thanks to clever positioning, we are inspired each day by views of Mt. Alfred and The Humboldt mountain range.
The “shiny tin barn” may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but within its walls lies a wealth of ideas and methods that have made our home a pleasure to live in. We’ve done this by incorporating energy-efficiency, passive design, environmentally-friendly building techniques and recycled materials.
The house is positioned to maximise thermal gain during daylight hours and solar panels on the roof heat the water. Over the last few years, we have noticed a great reduction in our power usage thanks to the panels. The house design allows for good air flow, which provides natural cooling in the warmer months. High-quality insulation and double-glazing throughout has provided further saving on heating and cooling costs. The result is a warm, dry, cosy house all year round.
Of course, no Mike Kingan home would be complete without some recycled elements! A mix of new and old materials is used throughout the home. The kitchen, entranceway and office feature recycled timber sourced from Mike’s primary school at Five Forks in Oamaru. While this took a huge amount of work, the result is well worth it. The old timber creates warmth, as well the ‘wow factor’ and most importantly, it weaves a wonderful story into the home.
A recycled water tank is used as the base for the fire and doubles as a draw for storing wood. The recycled chain water feature at the front of the house gets a lot of comments and is incredibly useful for torrential Glenorchy downpours or when it freezes in winter.
Enjoying the outdoors is hugely important for us, so a large deck allows for good indoor-outdoor flow and is one of our favourite features.
Want to build a family home that’s anything but ordinary? Talk to Mike Kingan today.