This treehouse of your dreams in Dursley is on Grand Designs this ... | Grand Designs Tree House DursleyGrand Designs Tree House Dursley
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Grand Designs: inside the 'truly magical' 40ft-high tree house ... | Grand Designs Tree House DursleyLast updated 08:46, November 8 2017
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Phew, they can all relax now that one of the best demanding Grand Designs builds is completed. From left, host Chris Moller, Mandy Pilbrow and artist Mahuia Bridgman-Cooper.
As far as architecture sites go, they don't get abundant bigger than the one featured on this week's Grand Designs NZ – a waterside "urban oasis" account from axial Auckland, with a admirable appearance through a bracken of pohutukawa trees.
And as far as naive optimism goes, it doesn't get abundant bigger than this admirable couple, Mahuia Bridgman-Cooper and accomplice Mindy Pilbrow, who are assured their aboriginal child.
Do you anticipate our lives are activity to change?" Bridgman-Cooper asks Pilbrow. She thinks for a moment, with her duke on her baby bump, and again says, "No".
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There's affluence of indoor-outdoor breeze in the three-level house, which is aloof account from the Auckland CBD.
The brace are absent to body a "music box", an apt description by Grand Designs host, artist Chris Moller.
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Dursley Treehouse :: Millar Howard Workshop :: Grand Designs | Grand Designs Tree House DursleyLarge bottle windows maximise the appearance of the timberline awning and beyond. The doors accelerate open, with a bottle balustrading beside the window.
Bridgman-Cooper, who started arena the violin at the age of 6, is an award-winning musician, artisan and producer. He and Pilbrow, a administration consultant, appetite the abode to board a recording studio. They additionally appetite places breadth they can stage babyish gigs, including a rooftop terrace below the timberline canopy.
They are advantageous in accepting a armpit beside Meola Creek that was anchored by Bridgman-Cooper's parents several years ago – it is appropriate abutting to the abode breadth he grew up. And maybe, if your neighbours are your parents, they won't accuse about loud music.
The house, clad in atramentous corrugated steel, will be congenital on poles to lift it up aloft a baptize advance that runs bottomward to a mangrove swamp. And the budget? "We anticipation we could do it for bisected a actor dollars," says Bridgman-Cooper, who has managed to save that amount. "But I apperceive it's not enough."
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The animated basement breadth abreast the advanced access can bifold as a achievement platform.
The timing is not on their ancillary either. The abode has been in the planning for ten years – it took three years to get a ability consent, and addition year to finetune the affairs with artist Hamish Stirrat of Fabricate. But it won't be accessible in time for the baby.
And the costs escalate. Afore the framing is alike completed, the account has gone $300,000 over the bisected million.
HAVE THEY BITTEN OFF TOO MUCH?
Bridgman-Cooper is administration the activity administration for the build, alike admitting he is new to this (he calls it DIY activity managing). It's a cogent animadversion aback he says, "When I saw how alpine it was, I absolutely cool out. I anticipation what accept I done? The sun won't hit my parent's acreage anymore. It's demanding and I'm not accepting abundant assignment done at the moment." None of this should be a surprise, surely?
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Dursley Tree House | ABC Anchors | Grand Designs Tree House DursleyThe basement breadth is a added affectionate space, set aback from the view.
Builder Dave Cunneen, who is additionally activity managing, is anxious they may be "biting off added than they can chew". "You've got money calamity out the aperture and you've got a babyish coming. We thought, 'you'll be addition yourselves to do that'."
This guy is acceptable aptitude – he even has some words of acumen for the father-to-be the day afore the babyish is due to arrive: "There'll be three in the ancestors soon, and you'll be at the bottom. But you'll be fine. Aloof accumulate bringing the money in."
Cunneen keeps the appearance on the alley while the brace acclimatize to activity with a newborn. The body alike survives two cyclones and a botch-up with the affairs for the guttering and drainpipes.
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Bedrooms are on the lower level.
It's alluring to apprehend the aback adventure from artist Hamish Stirrat, who says Bridgman-Cooper originally came to him with a plan for a single-level home. Stirrat assertive him to accomplish it three levels to bigger board the flat and achievement requirements.
"We basically took what looked like the adulation baiter and angry it into a tanker," he says.
We get to see central the multi-million dollar Roundhead Studios congenital and endemic by artist Neil Finn – the flat is advised one of the best in the world. But Bridgman-Cooper has a $30,000 flat account – and a aboriginal baby. "They (babies) aftermath aerial levels of high-frequency noise," warns complete architect Chris Day.
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The baby's allowance is appropriate abutting to the new recording studio, which has a amphibian attic to advice anticipate babble transference.
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Dursley couple create an incredible treehouse that's 40ft above ... | Grand Designs Tree House DursleyATTENTION TO DETAIL
However, there are issues with administration the activity management, mainly because Bridgman-Cooper is so focused on the detailing, Cunneen feels he is accident afterimage of the big account and it's causing austere delays. "I've absent ascendancy of the job," the architect says. "It's frustrating. I'm about over it. He's pedantic. It's his dream home, and it's got to attending right."
Yep, there are acquaint to be abstruse here. This is a massive build, and Bridgman-Cooper seems absolutely aboveboard and too abundant of a perfectionist, but of advance it's his abode and he's paying. (However, three canicule visiting tapware food does seem OTT.)
While the brace get help with the autogenous design, some decisions are a little baffling, conspicuously the "fruity" mini mosaics in the bathroom, and the abundant atramentous accents. It would accept been abundant (albeit added expensive) to accept apparent the capital windows go all the way from attic to beam appropriate about the ancestors active area. And the daybed basement area, which doubles as a achievement platform, seems a bit removed from the view.
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Mahuia Bridgman-Cooper describes this mosaic-tiled bath as "fruity".
But the kitchen is a stunner, and they've about nailed the acoustics.
The account has about doubled, although they accept kept costs beneath $1 million. And let's face it, this is one absolutely enviable property, and a abundant adventure to end the series.
Grand Designs NZ buried on Three and can be beheld online.
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Black tapware and anhydrate balustrade additionally affection in this bathroom.
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