This seaside home in Auckland’s Clarks Beach has been designed with sophistication and low maintenance in mind. With a prominent location facing the sea, the owners wanted a natural cladding product that would fit in with the surroundings. The decision to use Designa Schist from Midland Brick in Grey Alps has exceeded expectations, providing a classic look not only for the exterior cladding, but also for design features inside and out.

“The clients were looking for a natural product given the home sits on the water,” explains Jarrod Richardson, Midland Brick. “The builder said that in their opinion Designa Schist was the most realistic looking schist cladding on the market and that’s why they went for it.”

Designa Schist is a natural stone schist veneer product that brings the sophisticated look of schist to a lighter weight brick format. The veneer system is more affordable and much easier to install than traditionally laid schist. “Compared to traditional schist blocks it's a lot quicker to install — it goes up quick as bricks but gives the same natural stone facade as standard schist cladding,” says Jarrod.

A natural choice for cladding the impressive home, Designa Schist is robust, weather-resistant and virtually maintenance and fade free — ensuring long term performance and good looks. The architect and clients took advantage of the versatility of Designa Schist to create bespoke design features both indoors and in the garden, creating a cohesive overall look.

On the interior, Designa Schist has been used for the surround of the full-height fireplace, with LED lighting used to create shadows and depth. “As you walk in it really catches your eye,” says Jarrod. This beautiful focal point is mirrored on the patio where the outdoor fireplace, also clad in Designa Schist, gives the homeowners a spectacular outdoor entertaining space. The light weight of the Designa Schist cladding allowed the designer and bricklayers to take advantage of the full height of the house for this chimney.

Heading into the garden, Designa Schist has been used for stone cages as part of the landscaping, creating cohesion between all the areas of the home, and allowing drainage off garden beds. “The builder and architect did a really good job of the stone cages,” says Jarrod, who adds that it involved more complex work for bricklayer, Pat Egan of Egan Bricklayers. “There was one area where they’ve brought the schist from the garden bed right up, then there’s a copper flashing that goes around that and creates a veneer system at floor height, so they had to cut around that. The bricklayers have done an awesome job, it went really smoothly.”

Jarrod says Designa Schist was a smart choice for delivering this project on time and on budget. “It’s a good value for money alternative that still looks like the real product. The schist-veneer panels are a lot faster to install than traditionally laid schist and make a project go a lot quicker.”

The end result is a stunning home and garden with classic schist appeal, which has recently won the residential category in the Jim Matthews Awards at the Master Brick and Blocklayers Conference.

“There’s been so much thought and design put into every aspect of the house, and it’s turned out amazing,” says Jarrod. “The bricklayer and his team have done an excellent job of making it look awesome. Standing right next to it, you can’t tell it’s a veneer product. They’ve done that good a job.”