A “forever” home. That’s how Rachael describes the house that she and partner Kip have built for their family of five in the Cambridge countryside.

Designed by Studio Pacific, it not only fits their current circumstances, it should do them nicely for the long-term. “We wanted a home that would grow with us and meet our different needs through the stages of our lives – accommodating pre-teen and teen children, working for us as empty-nesters, then embracing our adult children and grandchildren.”

Inspired partly by piazzas they visited in Italy, the house wraps around a central courtyard, with one cedar-clad wing for the boys’ bedrooms, another for the master bedroom and guest rooms, and a bridging wing that houses kitchen, dining and living. The latter is a serene space, with large sliding doors opening on one side to the sanctuary-like courtyard, and on the other to a deck and extensive lawns. High-set clerestory windows here and along the bedroom wings draw in more light, and can be opened electronically for ventilation. 

Throughout, they’ve used Vantage Residential and Metro Series ThermalHEART joinery. Given the vast amount of glazing in the living area, “having that thermal break in our joinery was a pretty easy decision to make,” says Rachael, who adds that the house is insulated well above code and includes other sustainability initiatives such as high-efficiency heat pumps and energy efficient lighting. For finishing, they selected ‘Metropolis Porpoise’ powdercoat, a warm grey that sits beautifully against the deeply set American Oak window sills and cedar panelling, as well as Matt Flax Pod to tie in with dark metal cladding. The square-edged steel hardware is from the Icon range.

The entire package is robust and low-maintenance – just what you want when you’ve built your dream ‘forever home’. “We plan to be here for a very long time!,” she says.

As seen in Your Home & Garden magazine