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REVIEW: Who has never dreamed of living in a lighthouse? High on a cliff, or even on rocks where seagulls screech and storms push waves against the walls.
For most of us, it’s a fantastic storybook idea – we know that reality can be harsh, lonely, and unforgiving.
Former Cops Cameron and Sumita Dale from Whanganui go Grand Designs NZ because they have this dream and a story: Cam’s great-great-great-grandfather was a Swedish lighthouse keeper. They have found an impressive section atop a cliff on Kai Iwi Beach; They are selling their cute riverside cabin in town, and they are going to live the dream, at first in a caravan.
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Built like a cliff-top fortress on Kai Iwi Beach near Whanganui, this “lighthouse” cost just $ 440,000 including land.
“I’ve always liked the idea (of headlights),” Cam says. “And when we saw that it was right on the edge, Sumita was the one who said, ‘Why don’t we make a lighthouse’?”
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And then we see the model of the house that they have designed themselves, and it is not so much a “lighthouse” as a “light station”. Rather he hoped it at least had a striped tower. But it has a lamp room at the top that will be a beacon.
But they are planning a nautical theme at all times, which could be a problem. Themed houses can be dated very quickly. One could get very tired of going through a bulkhead door to get to the bathroom. But Sumita says, “It seems like a good idea at the moment.”
More importantly, they are sacrificing much of the impressive view for narrow windows to enhance the aesthetics of the lighthouse. This could be an overcommitment.
But I love the idea of the internal staircase up to the octagonal vaulted lamp room, with a wraparound balcony. But I wonder what the locals will think of a bright light shining to warn ships at sea.
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Stairs outside lead to the lamp room. There is also access by stairs from inside the house.
Grand Designs NZ Host Chris Moller says: “Great location for a crazy idea.”
And the budget seems like the country of dreams. They paid “around $ 150,000” for the site, which seems ridiculously low, and they plan to build the house for around $ 220,000, doing a lot themselves. That is a cheap house. And since Sumita is studying and Cam only works two days a week, they can’t get a mortgage, so there can’t be cost overruns.
Construction gets underway, under the direction of project manager Wayne Marshall, “Weasel.” An old proverb comes to mind about the wise man who builds his house on the rocks. But this is one that is being built on sand, and the engineer demands that the large holes for the concrete be filled in as soon as they have been dug. Therefore, they have to order a concrete pour on short notice, with torrential wind and rain. Why wasn’t this resolved beforehand?
Cam simply says it would have been like this in the “old days” when headlight builders had to fight the elements. And, just like the old days, they end up dumping in the concrete wheelbarrow. Moller believes that the former lighthouse keeper would be “proud of his eccentric grandson.”
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The crowning glory is that room at the top and the wraparound balcony.
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The 120-year-old light once graced one of the lighthouses on the Whanganui River.
We see a wonderful lighthouse in Wellington, built in 1994 as a studio and now a B&B. It’s much more traditional and fun – it was the lighthouse that inspired the couple to build their own version. And it turns out that Cam has no head for heights, which is fun for a lighthouse keeper.
They cleverly placed a large metal compass on the concrete floor “to remind us of where we came from and where we are going,” Cam says, though they stab the actual direction, defeating the purpose of a compass. . “Sumita is my true north.” It’s cheesy, but charming to see how well adjusted these two are, no doubt helped by Cam’s sense of humor: “There are three types of people: those who can do math and those who can’t,” he says.
WE KNOW THE LIGHTHOUSE MANAGER
And we meet a true lighthouse keeper: Ray, who was the last keeper of Tiritiri Matangi in the Hauraki Gulf. He is a real old man and believes that Cam and Sumita are “true romantics”. Ray has a museum collection of rare lighthouse machinery, which is great.
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A metal compass was embedded in the polished concrete floor at the entrance. A ship’s bulkhead door opens to the downstairs master bathroom.
Speaking of old things, the couple get a wonderful 120 year old lighthouse lamp that used to be in the middle of the Whanganui River. That’s a great touch. They have also made a wooden replica of the finial that was on top of the four-time-great-great-grandfather’s lighthouse in Sweden. Perfect.
Then Moller shows up for the big reveal, which was last month. Does it feel compelling like a beacon? Moller calls him the “real McCoy” and “a brackish beacon of hope.” I wouldn’t go that far. We see neighboring houses quite close, which detracts from the look from certain angles.
But, it is a strong, concrete block building, similar to a fortress, as planned, and the lamp room at the top is realistic. It seems much more substantial than the nearby modern houses.
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The main living room on the first floor is a unique open space. The narrow windows frame cuts of the view, leaving the full view for the lighthouse at the top.
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The old Swedish clock was built in the same generation as Cam’s great-great-grandfather, who was a lighthouse keeper.
The reveal begins with the greenish-blue bathroom with that bulkhead door: “We’ve gone for the elegance of Taiwanese fishing trawlers,” says Cam, who has a way with words.
The rooms are small, with those narrow windows, but they seem to work – you get framed cuts of the view, just like you would on the lower floors of a real lighthouse.
And its simple living space with its exposed beams feels authentic, crammed as it is with antique furniture, a baby grand piano, and seating. It has the appearance of a lighthouse room. And the second bathroom, with its ancient vaulted ceiling with stained glass and exposed copper plumbing, is quaint.
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A studio on the ground floor also faces the sea.
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Concrete blocks have been left exposed on some walls and plastered on others.
Then we go up the stairs to the lamp room, an “unintentional, but eerily accurate replica” of Grandpa’s lighthouse, and this is the amazing moment. It must be wonderful to sit there while a storm rages from the west.
“Any port in a storm,” Cam says, and pours himself three glasses of the goo. “To the lighthouse!”
Of course, spending went through the roof, to $ 290,000. The couple now owes Cam’s mother and brother, and Sumita’s mother, father, and partner. “Virtually everyone we know from our family.”
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Sumita and Cam have had a rough year: Cam lost his father and his budget has exploded. Family members have come to the rescue.
This project was a great watch, one of the best, and seeing them sitting looking out to sea, it’s hard not to feel a little envious.
But also sad. We learn that Cam lost his father this year during construction, which creates an emotional scene at the end.
Moller (who loves this house) says, “It just shows you that great design doesn’t need a pot of gold, especially when you have a positive attitude and a creative mind.”
They got this house and this view for just $ 440,000. That is just amazing.
