The form of the 300-square-metre dwelling has a pleasing symmetry, the materials are elegantly balanced and inside, and personalised elements ensure a house that has a sense of history in its make-up.

Perhaps the double front door, set in a wall of schist, is twice as wide to be equal to the welcome that home owners provide for their many visitors. Inset glass strips allow them to see who has come to visit.

Once inside, the volume expands exponentially above the open-plan kitchen and living zone. It’s almost spiritual. As an extensive traveller, The home owner wanted to emulate the feeling of religious monuments with their magnificent soaring ceilings.

Oak panelling overhead and oak floors moderate the grandeur and inset LED lighting strips lend a touch of theatre in the evenings. “That’s one of the things Andrew our David Reid Homes Southland franchise owner and home owners talked a lot about: that the house should look good in the day and the night.”