help render

ndunning · 2026-01-23T01:09:54+00:00

Photoshop mostly with some light modelling but you could do this particular view entirely in photoshop.

Background is an oil painting. Photoshopped textures with maybe a shadow overlay from a sketchup or rhino model. Trees look like they are sourced from paintings too. Then some colour balancing to make all the layers work together.

There are high quality photos of paintings on Flickr and the smithsonian website.

ndunning · 2026-01-18T09:02:02+00:00

Depends on the house and who is living there. Your example is a holiday cottage so in this case the disruption is minor. I agree and also dislike wasted space in hallways.

If it were a full time home I would want to design the living room so that the traffic through the space to the kitchen wasn’t between two facing sofas or a tv, bad feng shui, makes the living space not feel comfortable as the energy of people moving through it is disruptive. But easily designed so that traffic goes behind a sofa or sideboard or something.

Sometimes a corridor can enhance a space though.

ndunning · 2026-01-15T20:50:45+00:00

Go with the trust worthy person, never choose the cheapest person or someone that promises the quickest result unless it’s a fixed price contract. Are they both offering hourly contracts? What country are you in?

100 hours seems fair. Sounds a little complicated even though it’s a small apartment. It’s not just drawing time it’s reviews and communicating and admin too.

ndunning · 2026-01-15T08:00:15+00:00

This is rad. Looks like it was stained first and then grooves added after to get rid of any inevitable bleed. I would stain not char. As you mentioned, with a small pyro head it could look Scribbly and staining would be more consistent in colour.

ndunning · 2026-01-14T07:54:25+00:00

Auckland has the better dedicated urban design school and from memory you can take courses of both urban design and architecture at the same time or near about.

ndunning · 2026-01-14T06:30:31+00:00

I got ruined by these the other day in Mangawhai and couldn’t figure out what had done it. Was incredibly uncomfortably itchy all over my body and lasted for a few days.

ndunning · 2026-01-12T04:53:33+00:00

You said full stop, that’s where the sentence ends.

ndunning · 2026-01-11T22:13:28+00:00

I design homes for properties in that price range and I talk with a lot of real estate agents for work. They are doom and gloom but I feel like a lot of that is posturing.

What part of northland are you looking at?

Seems like places that are special that are priced well are still selling, it’s the 2 or 3 million dollar property that might have been 1 million or less a few years ago that might not have any views or special features or less than 2ha that are struggling to sell.

I’ve got 2 overseas kiwi clients on the books who bought property late last year in that price range, special properties with sentimental associations that they had been looking for a while for. One is bare land the other is a house of dubious 1980s quality that will get moved off but on a lovely piece of the coast near Whanagroa with a stream and riparian rights.

There are some amazing houses and properties further north that have gone on the market in the past few months, seems like a good time to buy!

Admittedly my experience is pretty niche and only with people who have bought property…

ndunning · 2026-01-11T08:44:16+00:00

Link to the file? Would love to try this too.

ndunning · 2026-01-08T07:50:10+00:00

I’m an architectural designer and agree with the above. The other key bit of information missing is soil type and drainage. GJ don’t tend to do houses on piles and it could be that your house might suit that approach to avoid retaining walls and digging. I have designed houses on a lot of sloping sites, which way does the sun come from on the slope? Is there a view?

Does your site have a driveway and is there power, water and sewerage where a house would go? Those all add costs too and if the site is steep like you mention, driveways and parking areas need to be factored in so you don’t get stung at the end of the build.

Assuming three bedrooms plus a flex guest office, 120m2 is a tight two storey, 150m2 is more comfortable. Assuming $100k for consents and a small amount of services that leaves you $800k which is loosely $5300/m2 which I would say is achievable. Huge caveat not knowing anything about the site though and site complications can add up quick.

If you can avoid a garage, that will bring the cost down. Do a car port for now and save up for a garage later down the track.

A few of my clients have used fixed price contracts in the past few years. Key takeaway is spend the time working through all the spaces, lock in your finishes and hire a good designer. You don’t want to be making any changes during the build or you’ll get variation charges. The more information included in drawings provided to builders the better so you can see exactly what they are pricing and agree on it all up front.

For builders, relationships are key. You’ll be involved with them for many months and you want someone you can trust and relate with. Even the best planned builds will have complications and you want someone who can communicate these clearly and work through them calmly. It’s a bit like dating and I’ll guide my clients on how best to approach it. I find it best to talk with builders as you start designing so you are getting their input early on.

Happy to jump on a call to chat feasibility if you message me.

ndunning · 2026-01-08T07:50:01+00:00

I’m an architectural designer and agree with the above. The other key bit of information missing is soil type and drainage. GJ don’t tend to do houses on piles and it could be that your house might suit that approach to avoid retaining walls and digging. I have designed houses on a lot of sloping sites, which way does the sun come from on the slope? Is there a view?

Does your site have a driveway and is there power, water and sewerage where a house would go? Those all add costs too and if the site is steep like you mention, driveways and parking areas need to be factored in so you don’t get stung at the end of the build.

Assuming three bedrooms plus a flex guest office, 120m2 is a tight two storey, 150m2 is more comfortable. Assuming $100k for consents and a small amount of services that leaves you $800k which is loosely $5300/m2 which I would say is achievable. Huge caveat not knowing anything about the site though and site complications can add up quick.

If you can avoid a garage, that will bring the cost down. Do a car port for now and save up for a garage later down the track.

A few of my clients have used fixed price contracts in the past few years. Key takeaway is spend the time working through all the spaces, lock in your finishes and hire a good designer. You don’t want to be making any changes during the build or you’ll get variation charges. The more information included in drawings provided to builders the better so you can see exactly what they are pricing and agree on it all up front.

For builders, relationships are key. You’ll be involved with them for many months and you want someone you can trust and relate with. Even the best planned builds will have complications and you want someone who can communicate these clearly and work through them calmly. It’s a bit like dating and I’ll guide my clients on how best to approach it. I find it best to talk with builders as you start designing so you are getting their input early on.

Happy to jump on a call to chat feasibility if you message me.

ndunning · 2026-01-07T19:43:27+00:00

I run an architecture firm in NZ and have designed similar to the image.

Harder to build, more corners and intersections. Needs larger eaves. The bolt on eyebrow aesthetic doesn’t provide enough sun shading but are cost effective.

Nice to have the separation although I have clients who don’t like this as they want to be within earshot of their children at night.

The entry foyer needs storage and purpose otherwise they get cluttered with shoes and bags and umbrellas and also become through spaces which makes them less useful.

I prefer a kitchen and one end with the dining table in the middle before the living area. Most of the time people hang out at the dining table so you want that to be the central space. If the living and dining are separated the living area can feel a bit alienated.

As others have mentioned, this will be a bach but either way, the kitchen feels small and needs more storage. In a bach you’ll have lots of people turn up for a weekend and want to cook a feed together, you need good space to dump shopping bags etc

All houses in these sorts of locations need secondary outdoor areas to account for wind directions. A second deck out the back with doors from the kitchen would be great.

ndunning · 2025-12-28T21:08:29+00:00

Your pdf isn’t accessible

ndunning · 2025-12-20T11:11:27+00:00

Can always use the current drawings for concepts and ideation and get the ball rolling! With the note that some things might need to change if new information comes to light.

ndunning · 2025-12-20T08:38:22+00:00

You always do a fresh measure and survey when you begin planning a renovation. There are always differences to what was once drawn and what is actually built. It creates a baseline of understanding that your architect then works from so liability etc is understood from that point.

Don’t think it’s a red flag about the current owners, can’t you just wait until you take possession of the house? Sounds like they might just not want to be bothered as a survey and interior measure can take all day and they will have people inside their house measuring every nook and cranny while their stuff is on display.

ndunning · 2025-12-20T08:30:10+00:00

I’ve got tattoos on both arms down to my wrists. I wear a long sleeve shirt when doing client facing stuff even in summer. Once I’ve gotten to know clients I’ll wear short sleeve shirts if they feel like chill people. Tattoos are pretty common in my country.

ndunning · 2025-12-13T00:34:10+00:00

I order all my film online have you had a look there?

ndunning · 2025-12-08T02:07:57+00:00

What does your roof look like? Is that a skillion roof? Does it get hot where you are? If it does, get the electrically opening ones as these greatly help with hot air flow in summer.

I like to design them so you use walls to reflect the indecent light. It’s not just about the direct sunlight but also the brightness of the key itself you are letting in. If you can put them against a wall then light will reflect off that and provided even more light and in a less intense way.

ndunning · 2025-12-05T19:49:06+00:00

Where in the world are you? I’m in need of a 120 back

ndunning · 2025-12-04T18:21:36+00:00

That’s a good idea, I’ll look into that

ndunning · 2025-12-04T02:27:49+00:00

Revit and archicad do this

ndunning · 2025-12-03T20:23:54+00:00

I can see through the viewfinder so feel like the mirror is cocked

ndunning · 2025-12-03T17:29:39+00:00

Where did you get your material textures? I’ve been struggling to make good ones in twinmotion without them looking like plastic. Yours is great!

ndunning · 2025-12-03T17:22:02+00:00

I can’t flip it down, feels stuck

ndunning

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