Rural hues

Situated on a working farm between Christchurch and Kaikoura, this home for two artfully utilises Colorsteel® cladding to create a dynamic definition within a palette of duality.

Rural Hues
The design delivers an innovative approach to shelter, with areas that offer subtle movements between indoors and out.

By drawing on the local vernacular, architectural designer Ben Brady’s concept delivers something overtly contemporary that elegantly pays homage to the rich rural history of this region.

A linear, rectangular form, the main part of the house — including kitchen, living areas, and guest bedrooms — sits in front of what was intentionally designed to look like an addition, and houses the main bedroom and en suite.

Rural Hues
COLORSTEEL® cladding creates a dynamic definition within a palette of duality, paying homage to the rich rural history of the region.

Utilising a combination of two Colorsteel® tones, Lichen and Windsor Grey, oriented vertically and horizontally, Ben captures the imagination of the visitor with a home that feels perfectly fitting on the crest of a hill on this working farm yet delivers an innovative approach to shelter, with areas that offer deft and subtle movements between indoors and out.

Colorsteel® Lichen, a versatile colour with hints of brown and olive and khaki undertones, and Colorsteel® Windsor Grey, a deep, dynamic grey, blend effortlessly into the environment throughout the year, complementing the deep green fields and, equally, the earthen hues when the grasses brown.

colorsteel.co.nz 


Related articles

Home of the Year 2026: Eastbourne House

Wedged into a cliffside beside the wild harbour of Wellington’s Eastern Bays, this year’s Home of the Year winner by Stevens Lawson Architects is a masterly object full of sculpture and craftsmanship, grandeur and human scale.

Readers’ Choice Home of the Year 2026

Home of the Decade (2015—2025) winning firm RTA Studio has refined a Southern language of gables and barn-like forms into a coveted residential style that is equally at home in the Alps as it is in the inner city.

Rural Home of the Year 2026

Tucked into the expansive alpine landscape outside Arrowtown, this home takes its cues from the rugged vernacular of Central Otago, sharpened with a distinctly contemporary edge.

City Home of the Year 2026

An urban treehouse in the heart of Auckland, this project reimagines how architecture can engage with nature in a dense urban setting.