3 Tips to stay on track with your design and building process

We caught up with Mel Vink - surfer, photographer and mother of four - for a building site walkthrough and chat about the vision behind this brand new home for her family of six.

‍

Melzi, what brings you to Raglan?

‍I met my husband on a surf trip to Raglan where he was living at the time. He then moved to Auckland, we got married, started a family and were trying to get into our first home. We had a section in Raglan we could build on near Jases's family which was ideal but I stayed skeptical. When we finally made the move and I fell in love with this beautiful coastal town we now call home.

Jase and I still love to surf and Raglan is such a fantastic playground for our kids to grow up in with lots of outdoor activities at our door step, even mama gets a dawn patrol surf in before heading home for lunchbox prep and school drop offs. Now that we have found our dream spot on Rangitahi we are excited to be moving into our family home very soon. Rangitahi takes the Raglan lifestyle that we love so much to another level with an incredible community of like minded families and creative individuals who chose this corner of Raglan as their home. We love that the kids can roam freely and safely, bike to school and see their friends next door at any time.

‍

Tell us about your design inspiration and process;

‍The two main driving factors are the intention to bring the outdoors in and have this seamless transition and flow with nature.And to satisfy our itchy travel feet we really wanted to create a home that feels like our sanctuary, a staycation holiday feeling without needing to buy flight seats for the six of us each year.The raw and perfectly imperfect aesthetic, look and feel therefore really comes from those breezy Byron Bay villas mixed with a bit of Bali in the form of pebble stone bathroom floors, custom cement vanities, brass handles throughout and a courtyard tropical garden feature in the heart of the house. We are keeping the colour scheme very simple and organic with lots of stone whites and varying texture and warm gold tones and of course, as a photographer, I made sure I am getting my 'Instagramable' spaces throughout with the arched door ways, wall inbuilt shelving and custom designed mirrors.I also love the way we can keep an eye on the kids from most corners of the house ;)

‍

‍What are 3 tips you can share with those of us who are just getting into the design and building process?

1) Like many others, we had some challenges around cost increases though out the build which has been a determining factor in our decisions and looking at our priorities 'must haves vs nice to have' list. We chose to focus on our most prominent living areas such as kitchen, bathroom and dining to be finished the way we really want them to be and like the idea of being able to still add value to the property at a later time.

2) Be brave and think a little outside the box, this is your home so have fun creating it! I love finding something like a tile that is unique and isn't a trend that everyone is doing. I have sourced many of the products, brass handles and taps myself as I didn't want to settle for 'off the shelf' options. Take regular site visits and don't be shy to ask for other options or corrections along the way as you take your walkthroughs and test things like light-switch positions etc.

3) And lastly, be sure to stay true to your concept theme and colour tones. I constantly have to pull myself back to our core colour scheme and that Bali/Byron vibe, it's easy to loose track over time so be sure to select finishings and lampshades with that filter in mind and keep it consistent in all of the rooms.

‍‍

We can't wait to take a final tour once @villapeaks is completed!

Be sure to connect with Rangitahi Peninsula on Instagram for the walkthrough Reel and future updates.

‍

‍

‍Products and local companies:
‍Wainui Construction - Project Manager
‍Weston Builders - Builder
‍Red Architecture - Architect
‍Mel Vink - Interior design
‍
Custom designed mirrors by Raglan Glass
‍Custom concrete basins by Crafted Concrete
‍Brass door handles via @nichecreativehous
‍Brass round knob from Vintage Hardware
‍Pebble tiles from Tile Depot

‍