78 | Luke Cunliffe Builder T T Russell Fredric Business flows from house award The house being built for an Auckland couple covers 300 sq1uare metres with a pavilion design configured into a T shape. BUILDING The publicity around winning a House of the Year bronze award two years ago has been one of the contributors to Alexandra-based Luke Cunliffe Builders ongoing growth. Luke started the business in 2017 with a hankering to be his own boss. “I started off quite small, just myself for two to three years and obviously House of the Year helped. I had a lot of interest through that,” Luke says. “The recognition brought business and over the last couple of years I’ve got a few more staff and am busier than ever, and almost looking at employing some more to keep up with the demand.” With interest rates and inflation appearing to have stabilised, there has been some corresponding settling in the local building economy with some people prepared to commit to new builds in recent months following an initial downturn, Luke says. “It’s definitely picking up, we are getting that overflow from that Queenstown, Cromwell area.” There has been a lot of interest in building in the Alexandra area from Aucklanders, highlighting the great climate, lifestyle and favourable property values, Luke says. He is currently building a house for a former Auckland couple. “They came down here for a holiday and they fell in love with the place, just the lifestyle of it and how quiet and community friendly it is. It’s just a different lifestyle, it’s a bit more relaxed compared to Auckland.” The house is actually a co-build with the client who is also a builder and who saw Luke Cunliffe Builders 2021 House of the Year award which was for a pavilion style house. Designed by Cromwell architect Hunter & Craig and covering a very generous 300 square metres, the new home will also be a pavilion design, but configured in a ‘T’ shape. “It has three bedrooms, is open plan with vaulted ceilings through the kitchen, lounge and polished concrete throughout the living, kitchen, laundry and all the bathrooms.” Located just out of town in Letts Gully, it is being built on an elevated site with close to 360 degree views of the town, the surrounding rocky hills and landscape. On its frontage it is being clad with Australian hardwood tongue and groove shiplap timber while the rear is clad in five rib coloursteel. Its kitchen will feature modern wood grain cabinetry and a butler’s pantry while underfloor heating, and ducted heat pumps will easily cope with the location’s coldest months. A media room with surround sound, outdoor living with a fire for entertainment and relaxation and a 9.0 by 7.0 metre garage with an attic to provide lots of space for cars, toys and tools are all part of the client’s extensive want-list to create a forever home. This highlights what people can potentially achieve by capitalising on the higher property values in northern cities and there is a big difference between what $ 1million will buy in the south compared with the likes of Auckland, Luke says. “What they made on their property up there they’ve been able to build their dream home.” For Luke, having a business that is helping clients to achieve their dreams is a part of fulfilling his own goal to be self-employed while building quality homes and providing employment to four staff and a good lifestyle. “I’m lucky I’ve got a lot of return clients that I’ve done renovations for, and we’ve slowly gotten [new] houses and they move on to another one; we’ve got quite a few clients like that. I’m pretty happy where I’m at at the moment with being self-employed and still having a good family life.” LMP LTD ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN Lauren Cuthbertson Kerry St, Alexandra 022 621 6655 laurenomeara@gmail.com Proudly supporting Luke Cunliffe Builder Ph: 03 448 9317 Mob: 021 942 807 Email: fowlerdecorating@gmail.com P: (03) 445 0305 16 Wolter Cres, Cromwell E: central@designwindows.co.nz W: www.designwindows.co.nz Proud Supplier for Luke Cunliffe Builder Always return to total home comfort
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