We’re excited to witness the progress of a Newenham home that is truly unique. Owner Martin Reynolds has been in the carpentry and building industry for 35 years and is in the process of designing and building his own home at Newenham. He is relishing the opportunity to build the home of his dreams in a space with a country feel and a strong, diverse sense of community.
Martin is a sole trader who grew up in Adelaide after migrating from Nottingham, England at the age of five in 1974. He grew up in Tea Tree Gully with his parents and two siblings and knew he wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps from a young age. “I did my apprenticeship with my father when I was 15. I was a carpenter by the time I was 20 and a builder at 24”, Martin says. “These days I undertake a large range of construction projects, with a lot of heritage building and extensions work.”
When Martin relocated to Adelaide 18 months ago, Newenham Estate was the standout location to build his home. “When we decided to move back to Adelaide we wanted to be in a new sub-division so I flew down from Cairns and inspected all of the new house and land estates I could build in”, says Martin. “Mount Barker felt right, so we researched which land developments were close by. It’s a beautiful town. What sold me is the main street, the heritage buildings and country charm. You’ve got everything you need in the town centre and never would really need to head down to the city unless you work there.”
For Martin, Newenham instantly stood out from other property development sites. “We looked at Newenham first and the block of land we ended up purchasing became the benchmark”, says Martin. “When we first looked at Newenham, we saw the legitimacy of their mission statement promoting community-based, healthy and spacious outdoor lifestyle. I could see my family living there within five minutes of standing on the block. I wanted the aspect of being surrounded by trees, parklands and paddocks, and to be able to make the space exactly what I wanted.”
Building a home for himself is nothing new for Martin, having previously built seven of his own homes. “Every time I build I try to design something different to challenge myself”, says Martin.
Martin’s home design is truly unique, with his favourite design feature being the front and en-suite wall leaning at 15 degrees towards the street. “It’s definitely a feature house”, says Martin. “There’s no other house like mine in the area. The front walls are clad with a brand new product that has not entered the market yet. Having the wall at 15 degrees is purely aesthetic. I wanted to design something completely different to other South Australian home builders.”
Other design features include ceiling heights that vary from three to just under five metres, polished concrete floors with underfloor heating and a massive six-bay garage. “The high ceilings give you the feeling of having more space inside and keep the house cool during summer, while floor heating keeps it warm in winter”, says Martin. “I added the six-bay car garage as I have five cars that are considered classic, prestige performance cars. Martin’s house is also a category one cyclone home, “not because of the threat of cyclones but 28 years of building houses makes you think to just build the strongest home possible.”
Martin works on building his Newenham home mainly on the weekends and hopes to finish by November, with landscaping to be completed over the following six months. He most looks forward to having a new home in a beautiful estate, surrounded by fantastic people. “It’s a fantastic place and I already have great neighbours”, says Martin. “Newenham are really accommodating. For me to go and build something so different and for them to accommodate that has been fantastic. I get on really well with all the Newenham team. I see Ben, the Sales Consultant and Mark the Landscaper at least once a fortnight, and I’d see at least one Newenham team member every week.”
According to Martin, it’s the open space and sense of community that makes Newenham special. “I think it just has that nice country feel to it”, says Martin. “When you come through the gate it doesn’t feel like a sub-division, just a nice country estate. It’s definitely a place to grow. You don’t have to be a young married couple to enjoy it. You could retire here because it accommodates all ages. It’s a very diverse community. I also go to all the resident events. They’re really good fun and I love catching up with other residents and hearing about Newenham’s overall progress.”
If you’d like to know more about joining our active and engaged community or how to secure your future at Newenham, simply call our Sales Consultant, Ben Walker on 0429 107 497. View our land for sale to see our range of large allotments or visit the Sales & Information Centre, open every day from 12 – 5pm at 164 Flaxley Road, Mount Barker.
Come and experience Newenham for yourself.
