Designer selling his award-winning house - 'definitely one of the hardest things I've done'

- Toby Chapman-Smith's award-winning Whangārei home, Black Ridge, is now for sale.

- Chapman-Smith designed and built the home with help from family and friends.

- The property features a 30m concrete wall and offers stunning bush and island views.

A young architectural designer who won a national award for the very first home he designed has now listed it for sale.

Toby Chapman-Smith created Black Ridge, an impressive four-bedroom house nestled in the bush in Whangārei, after failing to find something suitable in Auckland for his family.

"Back in 2016, my wife Amy and I just got married, and we were looking to get into the property market in Auckland. We were a little bit underwhelmed by what was on offer," he told OneRoof.

“We looked at my hometown of Whangārei and found a section Amy's grandparents were selling that no one wanted. It was the last section. I was amazed because in terms of aspect and views, it was the best.”

The four-bedroom home boasts countless stylish touches, including exposed beams. Photo / Supplied

Chapman-Smith had completed a master's degree in architecture in Auckland, but hadn’t done anything formal with it, because he didn’t want to spend his 20s in front of a computer.

“I did a building apprenticeship, which was probably one of the best moves I've ever made. I really enjoyed my time building and working on some beautiful homes in Auckland. I was a qualified LBP builder when we moved up to Whangārei," he said.

Chapman-Smith didn't have the technical design experience, so he teamed up with university friend Ben Connor to collaborate on the design.

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Chapman-Smith's brother, a structural engineer, helped them come up with a creative and cost-effective solution to the challenges of the site.

Other family members chipped in. "My father-in-law had just retired. He'd worked for 42 years in the bank and had had enough. He offered to help us for a year, and he worked as a hammer hand. It was just me and him building it because we didn't have the budget for labour," Chapman-Smith said.

"It was a real grind - definitely one of the hardest things I've done in my life. Project managing it, building it, pricing it, paying for everything, organising subbies. We did everything down to the foundations.

"Every time I got a price, I'd be like, ‘Oh, I have to do it myself.' It was unreal. I felt like it was the pinnacle of my educational experience, designing and building that [home] off the back of studying architecture and construction. It was a long haul. It was really brutal.”

He said his greatest achievement was the 30m in-situ concrete wall that runs right through the house.

The 30m concrete wall that runs through the house is a standout feature. Photo / Supplied

"One of the highlights of my building apprenticeship was working with [the concrete king] Ross Bannon on some sites in Auckland. I approached him, asking if I was dreaming to do this or not. He was generous with his time and knowledge, and he and his son actually helped me pour it. They remembered me from sites I'd worked with them on. It was awesome.”

Chapman-Smith said typically when architects specify that type of concrete wall, it gets taken out because it’s too expensive for most home builders.

“Building your own home, the labour's free. It's in your best interest to make it labour-intensive. So, we went for it, and it was a smart move because it maximised the use of our site.”

The Chapman-Smiths moved into their grand design at Christmas 2021. The next year, they won Home magazine's Rural Home of the Year award and the Reader's Choice award.

"That really opened the door for me to get back into design because I was at a point in my building career where I was either going to grow a construction company or leave and give design a crack,” he said.

Chapman-Smith did much of the building work himself. Photo / Supplied

Chapman Smith and Connor worked together after the home award and are both now directing their own design studios, Chapman Smith Architecture and 4C Studio.

Although the friends are technically in competition with each other, they frequently help each other out. “He uses my carpentry skills, and I use his knowledge of CAD, computer-assisted design.”

Chapman Smith said he and Amy moved into Black Ridge when they had their first child. Now that the family numbers six, including four young boys, the plan is to move to a lifestyle block with room to run around.

The couple have listed the property for sale with Harcourts agents Paul Sumich and Morgan Tunstall of Harcourts. Sumich told OneRoof he was lost for words when he first viewed the 204sqm home at 47 Stonelea Way, in Maunu, which has an RV of $1.2 million.

It has an exposed frame, floor-to-ceiling glass and boasts views of the bush as well as the Hen and Chickens Islands, Little Barrier Island, and Bream Tail.

"You enter the atrium from above, and the lounge area is exposed beneath you,” Sumich said. “It's quite a stunning reveal. You've got the timber braces holding up the roof line, but you’re at that level. Then you look down and see the concrete wall, see the clean, crisp lines of the lounge area, all opened up beneath you. It's quite a stunning platform from the front door.

"We've seen barn-style houses that have a rural flavour to them, but nothing built to this level, with the concrete wall, the engineering, and the architecture behind the property. It’s quite special.”

The home is a 15- to 20-minute drive to the centre of Whangārei, and that proximity brought medical professionals and a lawyer to the first open home, Sumich said. “It’s close to the hospital, so it will attract that professional type of buyer who needs to be close to their work.

“It's also in good school zones as well, being quite a close drive to town. We’ve also had some professional tradespeople come and look at it, either for themselves or to take inspiration.”

“We're just looking forward to getting a result for them that indicates how much hard work they've put into the property. Which is huge.”

- 47 Stonelea Way, Maunu, Whangārei, goes to auction on June 19