Taylor’s Mistake / Te Onepoto House

New Architectural Build - Designed by Tim Nees Architects.

A collection of spaces floating on the hill side, full of crisp and soft details. Exposed structural timber. White washed plywood linings. Negative details at every junction. All supported on a steel frame allowing the building to gently float above the landscape surrounding it.

A modern kitchen with wooden countertops, a black sink with a high-arc faucet, upper wooden shelves stocked with bowls and books, a tiled backsplash, and large windows letting in warm sunlight.

“Steel support structure, timber framing, macrocarpa posts and beams, painted particle board floor; plywood linings; painted timber rainscreen and trims; concrete block retaining and landscape walls.’

“Chosen for both the suitability/robustness and appearance, and the cost, and how they could best create the specific details that make the building and the atmosphere that is within the building.”

- Tim Nees, Architect & Home Owner

From the Architect:

Key materials used, and why…

Interior view of a hallway with wooden walls, a door on the right with a glass panel, and two small framed artworks on the wall.

Award Winning Design & Build

2023 NZIA Canterbury Architecture Award

2023 NZIA Resene Colour Award

2023 NZIA National Architecture Awards Shortlist

2023 HERE Awards Finalist; Runner-up House of the Year

“Clearly the home of an architect who cares how every part of their building looks and feels, Taylor’s Mistake House is an exercise in attention-to-detail that is so thorough it is intrinsic, with no component unresolved. Examples of this are everywhere, from the beautifully resolved structure holding up the house to the sculptural downpipes. Planning has been so thoroughly resolved inside that the house only needs a single internal door. Building placement on the hillside site is cleverly handled so the built forms create an amazingly calm courtyard, carefully landscaped to give a relaxed, modern feel.”

- NZIA Awards Excerpt.

Modern white house with large windows, surrounded by green trees and plants, on a clear sunny day.
Modern white house with large windows and a wooden walkway, surrounded by trees and plants, under a clear blue sky.
A modern house with white exterior walls surrounded by lush greenery, including a flowering garden and trees, under a clear blue sky.
Modern house with large windows, white exterior, located on a hillside surrounded by greenery, trees, shrubs, and flowering plants, under a clear blue sky.
Living room with large windows showcasing mountain views, furnished with a patterned sofa, leather armchair, and lounge chair, illuminated by natural light.

Photos by David Straight