Large Families with Little Money

Te Ao Hou, June 1964, Page 23

Large Families with Little Money I have thought about houses that would be right for large families with little money. In such houses one would have to ‘use every inch of space’ as the saying goes. One would also have to incorporate many features which Maoris would like, but which Pakehas would not necessarily notice, or dislike if they did notice them (a house for a large family would, of course, suit many large Pakeha families as well). In 1961 I designed the three-bedroom house which is shown in the photograph above and in the plan on the next page. It is a variation

This plan shows the interior of the house illustrated on the previous page. At one end the roof is brought forward to form a verandah, an open-air extension of the living room. The plan, which was to the satisfaction of State Advances, does not provide for built-in wardrobes (though these could be included). But it does have good kitchen fittings, separate W.C., and insulation in floor and roof. on the normal three-bedroom house design, and cost about £2,800. It had low eaves, and a large living space open to the rafters. In this living space there is a kitchen, a dining space, and a divan that can be used occasionally as an extra bed. It opens out to a veranda on the sunny north gable wall, over which the roof is extended. That might make it look a bit like a whare, but this particular house was built for a European family, and they liked the roof. It might be less popular with a Maori family — it was a sensible design for a large site, though; only the veranda would not be private enough if it faced the street. The interior is light and useful; the internal passage to the bedrooms has direct light, opens into the back entrance, and is wide enough to look spacious. The children can play in this wide passage, and it is almost part of the living space. One room is small, which is useful if somebody is sick. But all bedrooms take at least two beds each. There is room for visitors, and the kitchen is a long one, so that more than one woman could work in it at a time. The sunny veranda, with its wide steps, is good for receiving visitors.