DIY aspiring architect sees dream realised
Many of us hold aspirations from our childhood however often these dreams can remain dormant… not for Nicholas!
Nicholas Wheadon had always aspired to build and design his own home from inside to out and now, through Cutshop®, this has been achieved!
“I always dreamt as a kid to be an architect and that didn’t work out for me, however through working with Cutshop® there’s nothing stopping me from seeing more of these dreams realised”
Design and building can be challenging enough for aspiring DIYers, however for Nicholas the project had a secondary layer of complexity due to the location of the build in Central Otago.
Having bought a bare section in Central in 2020 after the first lockdown, the vision of the home was derived from his love of climbing and the classic Kiwi alpine huts with their trademark red, eve-less corrugated steel profile. However the exercise of transporting materials was a real challenge which he needed to overcome to achieve this dream-home.
“There was significant risk building so far away as I needed to ship a whole truckload of parts from Auckland to the South Island, every single item from timber to screws and if there was any problem it would have been very difficult and costly to fix”
Fortunately having previously worked with Simon on several smaller projects, Nicholas trusted Cutshop’s efficient and customer-focused process and was confident all would go to plan.
“The process was seamless. They cut all the joinery for the house - the kitchen, wardrobe, laundry and bathroom joinery- loaded it up and shipped it down. I don’t know of anyone else who would go to that length, and they did a perfect job.”
In terms of materials Nicholas wanted very much to achieve a seamless look from the ‘typical’ exterior alpine hut through to the interior joinery kitchen design. He wanted to achieve this with Strand board - a material typically used as an underfloor product in alpine huts as well as all other key linings – however it is very rarely used with kitchen cabinetry.
After speaking with Simon, Nicholas supplied the product which Cutshop® then worked with to achieve an amazing result – the entire process a dream realised.
For Nicholas the process of designing and installing the kitchen was really fast and the support was comprehensive.
“All the little details from draw runners, handles, even the rubbish bins they advise on what products worked best. Once you’ve submitted designs, Cutshop® send a comprehensive plan back with drawings within several weeks. Once you are sure you are happy with the plans and measurements and confirm and commit, their lead time to cut in my experience is very quick. They cut wood and they are very good at it.”
Cutshop® really cater to the DIY market and have a seamless system they work from which is very end-user friendly, also giving the client a great deal of confidence in the process.
“There’s no way I would have done this with any other joinery company as I wouldn’t take on the risk. All it meant was I had to take the concern of ensuring my initial measurements were correct and then it was my responsibility to accurately feedback on the detailed plans they sent back. From there it really was the easiest process and much, much faster than what I believe would have been achieved if I had gone to a joinery design company.”
Whilst there were some more complex design challenges due to Nicholas wanting quite a specific look, he was able to address these with consultation with Karl. For example, some of the kitchen cabinetry had overhang, which they were able to work with successfully.
Now that this project is nearly wrapped Nicholas is already looking forward to the next and whilst he is not sure yet what this involves he is sure that he will continue working with Cutshop® in which ever project he undertakes next.
“I can’t sing their praises enough.”
