The Brief
Transform a disused outdoors space into a private year-round entertainer for the whole family

• A dramatic, open outdoor fireplace and oven have been installed – now the focal point for this family taking them both outside and turning them inward. Lazy afternoons segue into late nights with friends over pinot gris, oven-fired pizza and toasted marshmellows on the end of a stick.

• A wall of thick, lush ti toki encloses the dining space, ensuring privacy from an overlooking apartment block and also creating a rich leafy green contrast to the wood and concrete.

• A cleverly recessed cedar-lined hot tub with a cover that lies flush to the deck means guests have the full run of the area to spread towels out on during the day. Flitting from the hot tub to the pool, the children now spend long hours outside in both winter and summer.

• A newly-installed pergola with a slatted roof fitted with a perspex ceiling allows light to filter down across the deck area and a fitted heater serves to draw guests out into the space if the temperature drops. The new pergola now allows for unobscured views out to the Chelsea Sugar Factory on Auckland’s North Shore.