03 Magazine: February 03, 2024

42 Magazine | Interiors
That ‘70s home
More than 45 years after it was built, this
home in Dunedin’s West Harbour not only
remains in the same family, it also retains all
of its original features.
WORDS KIM DUNGEY
PHOTOS GREGOR RICHARDSON
J
ulia Hutchinson bought her childhood home and it has
hardly changed since the 1970s.
She and her husband Jay were living in Wellington and
becoming disillusioned about house prices when her parents,
who were departing Dunedin, suggested they buy the family
home in Maia.
The idea took her by surprise.
“I suppose there was the fear it would feel like my parents’
home, not mine,” she says.
“But after much discussion, we made the decision to move
back about five years ago and now I feel incredibly lucky.”
Designed by her father when he was an architectural
draughtsman at Mason & Wales, the house was built in
1977 for just $23,000.
Although it had some features typical of the 1970s,
including dark-stained timber and built-in cabinetry, its
compact size and architectural style were unusual for
the time.
Julia’s father Stephen Loach grew up in the country, and
wanted the house to have a strong architectural style that
reflected early New Zealand cottage forms.
For the cladding, he sourced rough-sawn larch, an
economical and durable material that was often used in farm
buildings. Timber was also used in the traditional interior,
with framed, ledged and braced doors made from cedar, and
the bathroom and toilet lined in New Zealand Oregon.
A brick fireplace acts as a heat sink in the middle of the
building. An open staircase – its treads held in place with
wooden pegs – connects the ground floor living areas with
the bedrooms and bathroom upstairs.