Ben & Kelly

Ben and Kelly are no strangers to building and renovating homes and have an excellent eye for picking out a diamond in the rough. After a reasonable history of trying to make bungalows and villas ‘perfect’, they wanted the option of designing a house from scratch rather than trying to fit in with an existing template.

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Ben and Kelly wanted to honour the aesthetic of the original 1920s and 1930s character bungalows that reside in Westmere, building a home that looked relaxed in its environment rather than feeling like a new addition to the neighbourhood.

“We love that our new home doesn’t look out of place next to the older homes”

Working with their Signature Homes design team, they created a modernised bungalow using materials such as weatherboard and corrugated iron timber to help achieve the look they were after.

Having worked on many older properties, Ben and Kelly were excited to finally be able to acheive the layout they've always wanted. Their 'must-haves' were great indoor-outdoor flow, a minimum of four bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a good-sized section.

View more images of Ben & Kelly's home here, or learn more about the home here.

The Johnson’s site is a long narrow site, so they ended up with a two-story home to maximise the land.

“The team at Signature Homes helped us to refine our ideas and thoughts, and after around 13 iterations, we ended up with the home we have today. They were very accommodating, and we’re very happy with the result”, says Ben.

View more images of Ben & Kelly's home here, or learn more about the home here.

"We wanted a pool and a house that did not dominate the entire site too. Even though we are close to the city, having land left over for garden and recreational use was important to us," explains Kelly.

View more images of Ben & Kelly's home here, or learn more about the home here.

To help achieve the modernized bungalow look, weatherboard timber and corrugated iron roofing were the materials of choice for the home's exterior. The colour scheme and details like boxed corners and lighting throughout the garden bring the home to life.

The original house had some interesting features such as bedrooms with limited ceiling height. The combination of low ceilings and the home's northwest facing aspect made the summer months unbearable!

The new design features high stud ceilings, ducted air conditioning and a layout/design that works intelligently with the sun.

The L-shaped living area comes with multiple access points to the outdoors, where the Johnson family can control which parts of the home they open up based on the outside elements. “Choosing the floors was a strenuous task, as we endeavoured to honour the traditional timber floors that go hand-in-hand with bungalows. We’re very happy with the Blonde Oak look,” explains Ben.

Special areas in Johnson's home include the window seat where they love to relax and read books. "The impressively large laundry is a game-changer", says Kelly. The impeccable landscaping and the lovely outlook from the Master bedroom are also standout features of the home.

View more images of Ben & Kelly's home here, or learn more about the home here.

“When the demo team turned up and started pulling the house apart, it was pretty nerve-racking”, explains Ben. When selecting their builder, Ben and Kelly decided on Signature Homes West Auckland due to their capability to take on a project of this nature, and the quality of their builds. Another important factor in the decision making was value for money and ensuring they went with a builder that had limited supply chain issues to ensure their build didn’t get delayed.

View more images of Ben & Kelly's home here, or learn more about the home here.