With uninterrupted views over the Kotukutuku Inlet, this long site deserved something special. Without doubt, that’s what’s been delivered by Next Level Construct. In this 280sqm single-level house built for retirees ,special features abound, yet each works beautifully with the other so the overall effect is one of harmony. Of course the views play a starring role in the design and all the entertaining areas face this part of the Waitematā Harbour. So does the pool, complete with roof and decking made of purpleheart timber. Even the partially below-ground sauna next to the pool deck has a window that frames sea vistas.

If you can tear yourself away from the outdoors and head inside, you’ll find a three-bedroom, three-bathroom home full of rich, raw textures that required pinpoint accuracy – either a carpenter’s dream or nightmare. The team relished the challenge of walls and ceilings made with bandsawn-look concrete, Meranti marine plywood, vertical Abodo timber and glass. Here, you’re hard pressed to find any plasterboard. Every square centimetre of this seaside retreat has been meticulously crafted right down to the negative detailing between sheets of ply. The exterior is given the same scrupulous treatment using dark Abodo and concrete. This house is about precision and artistry, but crucially, it is also a cosy home for its owners.