This home in Wanaka chooses design over size. What the owners saved in square metres, they were able to spend on higher quality fittings and finishes, and the result is a small but perfectly formed alpine cabin. Though small – 110 m2 only – they have still managed to fit three bedrooms in the layout. Three generations share the space – the owners, their 12-year-old son, and recently, their son’s grandmother. You would think it was a tight fit, but it works for a couple of reasons. The first, and most significant, is that everyone – yes, including matriarch and son-in-law – gets on well. Secondly, the design has allowed for privacy and space even within a small area. The master suite is upstairs on its own, and this becomes a refuge for the owners. The other key design factor is that, apart from four bodies, there isn’t too much stuff to cram in here. This house is minimal, not in a rigorous austere way, but rather in a considered measure-twice, cut-once sort of way. Though in this case, it would be dream twice, spend once.

Each piece that does find a coveted spot in this house is intentional. The EJ 60 sofa designed by Erik Jørgensen shares the space with Thonet bentwood chairs that are painted glossy black with what Thonet call “socks” – the natural timber left as a strip at the base of each leg. Small works of art like Madeleine Child’s porcelain popcorn kernel or objects like Seletti’s Versailles Fluo vase add character and whimsy.

What saves this space from ever feeling bare is the interior cladding; you’ll find no plasterboard here. Instead, the owners have used a rich plywood on almost all the surfaces. This choice transforms the small house into a delicate piece of cabinetry, and the timber grain makes the small space feel even cosier. A rammed-earth corner wall provides relief from the plywood finish and visually anchors the house. The owners previously lived in a rammed-earth house, and know the comfort and warmth that the natural building block provides. While the initial intention was to construct an entirely rammed-earth home, throughout the design process it became apparent that timber would be a better option. Rammed-earth works better when there is constant occupation; when people are out of the house for much of the day it can take a while for the solid walls to heat up. The compromise was to leave the western wall in rammed earth so that even with the family absent, the wall will absorb the afternoon sun and slowly radiate the heat through the house during the evening. In Wanaka’s cold climate, controlling the temperature is a key priority. The small space again seems sensible, as the single wood-burner stove heats the entire house quickly. In the hot summer months, sliding glass doors open the house out to the impressive valley view.

The best things don’t always come in small packages, but this is one architectural project that holds that adage to be true. When there is less, every element takes on more significance, and what has made this home so successful is the artful layering of materials, where everything that has gone into it is loved.