Designing a Home in Tauranga: Making the Most of Sun, Views and Coastal Living

Tauranga offers many of the things we value in a place to live: a close connection to the coast, an outdoor lifestyle, and neighbourhoods with distinct characters. Designing a home here begins with understanding how those qualities can become part of everyday life.

A harbour outlook might suggest where a living room belongs, but views are only one consideration. Where does the morning sun fall? Which outdoor space will be sheltered enough to enjoy in the evening? How can a home open to its surroundings while retaining privacy?

At Cummings Studio Architects, these questions form the starting point for design. Whether we are working on a new home or adapting an existing house, our approach begins with the site and the people who will live there.

Start with the site, before the floor plan

It is natural to begin a new home or renovation with a list of rooms. But before deciding how those rooms fit together, it helps to understand what the site offers—and where it asks us to be more careful.

On a first visit, we look beyond the boundaries. The position of neighbouring windows, the shade cast by an established tree, the slope of the land and the experience of arriving all influence how a home might take shape. An outlook can change as you move across a site, and sometimes the most rewarding view is one that is revealed gradually.

A wide view might suit an open living space, while a more enclosed part of the site could offer the privacy and shelter needed for a courtyard. A carefully positioned window can frame a tree or a glimpse of the harbour without opening the whole room to the street.

For an existing house, this means looking closely at what already works. A room may have good proportions but face the wrong way for how it is used. An underused entrance or awkward connection to the garden may offer an opportunity to improve several spaces at once.

Understanding these relationships early gives the floor plan a clear purpose. Rooms are positioned around light, outlook, privacy and daily routines, creating a home that feels connected to its setting.

Balance views with everyday comfort

A view can be one of a site’s greatest assets, but how we experience it depends on the space around it. The size and position of a window, the depth of a roof overhang and even the placement of a favourite chair all contribute to how a room feels.

Large areas of glass can bring light and openness, but they also need careful consideration. A living room facing the afternoon sun may need shade to remain comfortable, while glazing overlooking a neighbouring property may call for a more selective approach.

Sometimes, a framed view creates a stronger connection than a fully glazed wall. It can draw attention to a particular part of the landscape while leaving space for furniture, artwork and the practical requirements of daily life.

The aim is to create rooms where you can comfortably read, cook, talk or sit quietly while enjoying the outlook. Considering views alongside shade, ventilation and privacy helps make those spaces enjoyable throughout the day.

Create outdoor spaces that invite everyday use

The connection between inside and outside deserves as much attention as the rooms themselves. A deck or terrace might look generous on a plan, yet remain largely unused if it is exposed to wind, lacks shade or feels disconnected from the house.

We consider outdoor areas as places with their own purpose. A sheltered spot for morning coffee has different needs from a dining terrace used on summer evenings. Positioning each in relation to the sun, prevailing wind and adjoining rooms helps determine where it belongs.

The transition matters too. A covered edge can provide shade and a place to sit when the weather is changeable. Doors positioned around circulation and furniture can allow a room to open naturally to the garden without making it a thoroughfare.

On some sites, two smaller outdoor spaces offer more choice than one large deck. A courtyard might provide privacy and shelter, while a more open terrace takes advantage of the outlook. These choices can extend the ways a home is used as conditions change through the day.

Consider what a renovation could achieve

Before deciding that a home needs more floor area, it is worth exploring how well the existing spaces work. Sometimes the problem is a living room that turns away from the sun, a kitchen disconnected from the garden, or circulation that takes up space without contributing much to the home.

A considered renovation can address these relationships. Repositioning a kitchen, opening a connection between rooms or changing where the house meets the outdoors can make a substantial difference to everyday life. A carefully placed addition may then provide the extra space needed while helping the existing rooms work better.

The starting point is understanding what is worth keeping. An established house may have appealing proportions, materials with character, or a relationship with its garden that would take years to recreate. These qualities can give the design a strong foundation.

Renovation also calls for an honest assessment of the building’s condition and the work involved. Early investigation helps establish where changes are straightforward, where they become more complex, and how the scope aligns with the budget.

For homeowners in Tauranga considering whether to renovate, extend or rebuild, this initial exploration is valuable. It allows the decision to grow from an understanding of the house, the site and what you want to achieve.

Choose materials that suit the setting

Materials influence both the character of a home and the experience of living in it. Texture, colour and the way surfaces catch the light all contribute to how a building sits within its surroundings.

For a coastal home in Tauranga, those choices also need to account for exposure and maintenance. We consider how materials will weather, which parts of the building are sheltered, and how accessible surfaces will be when they need attention.

These conversations are personal as well as practical. Some clients enjoy timber developing a silvered appearance; others prefer a finish that retains a more consistent colour. Understanding those expectations early helps us select materials that suit both the design and the people who will care for it.

The way materials meet is equally important. Carefully resolved junctions, edges and openings help give a building coherence. A restrained palette can allow the proportions of a space, the landscape and the changing light to take a stronger role.

Bring the design back to daily life

The measure of a home is how well it supports the people living there. That might mean a sunny place to sit in winter, a kitchen where family can gather without getting in the way, or an entrance that offers a moment of shelter and somewhere to leave sandy shoes.

These everyday experiences give direction to the larger architectural decisions. They help establish where rooms belong, how spaces connect and where the budget will have the greatest impact.

Designing a new home or renovating in Tauranga is an opportunity to consider these things together. By responding carefully to the site, the existing building and the way you want to live, a home can offer lasting enjoyment as your needs evolve.

At Cummings Studio Architects, we work with clients to uncover those opportunities and develop a considered response to each project.

If you’re planning a new home or renovation in Tauranga or the wider Bay of Plenty, contact Cummings Studio Architects to discuss your site and ideas.

Instagram and the Homogenisation of Architecture.

In the age of social media, platforms like Instagram have transformed the way we experience architecture. Once a local expression of culture, climate, and context, architecture is increasingly becoming a product of global visual trends. The result? A strange and growing homogeneity across modern architectural design—from coffee shops in Copenhagen to boutique hotels in Bali, from apartments in São Paulo to co-working spaces in Toronto. Everywhere starts to look... the same.

The Rise of “Instagrammable” Architecture

Instagram didn’t invent good design, but it certainly accelerated a specific kind of design: the photogenic kind. The “Instagrammable moment” has become a design brief in itself. Designers and developers now plan with shareability in mind—pampas grass in a terrazzo vase, pastel walls with neon quotes, arched mirrors, and textured concrete are not just stylistic choices; they're marketing tools.

Social media rewards repetition. The more a visual style circulates, the more people recognize and seek it out. This feedback loop fuels a race to replicate the most-liked aesthetics, not necessarily the most thoughtful or locally resonant ones.

Global Taste, Local Erasure

While platforms like Instagram democratize access to design ideas, they also flatten cultural nuance. Traditional materials, climate-responsive design, and region-specific craftsmanship often get sidelined in favor of globally trendy visual cues. A café in Marrakech might look like one in Melbourne—same color palette, same minimalist furniture, same leafy monstera plant in the corner.

This aesthetic convergence erodes architectural diversity. It becomes harder to tell where you are by looking at a building’s design. In extreme cases, this erasure leads to what some critics call "AirSpace"—a term used to describe the uncanny sameness of spaces designed for digital consumption rather than human experience.

The Algorithm as Tastemaker

Instagram’s algorithm favors what works visually at a glance. Clean lines, symmetrical compositions, and muted color palettes perform better than complex, messy, or deeply contextual spaces. So architects and designers—whether consciously or not—start to design for the feed.

The dominance of certain influencers or viral architects reinforces this. When a specific style gains popularity—think Japandi minimalism or Brutalist revivalism—it quickly becomes a template, spawning countless imitations. The architecture stops being about problem-solving or place-making and starts becoming a backdrop for lifestyle branding.

Can Architecture Fight Back?

Not all is lost. In response to this sameness, there’s a growing counter-movement: architects and designers who embrace hyperlocal materials, indigenous techniques, and narratives rooted in place. The key challenge is to design in a way that resonates in real life, not just through a screen.

Some firms are starting to design for anti-Instagrammability—intentionally creating complex, tactile, and immersive spaces that resist flattening into a square photo. Others use social media to show the process, not just the polished product, reminding audiences that architecture is as much about the people who use it as the people who photograph it.

Conclusion

Instagram has undoubtedly influenced architecture—sometimes inspiring creativity, but often narrowing design into a handful of global clichés. The challenge for architects, developers, and users alike is to question what’s driving our aesthetic choices. Are we building for the camera, or are we building for life?

The most meaningful architecture should do more than get likes. It should reflect who we are, where we are, and why we are. And that may never fit neatly into a 1080x1080 pixel frame.

Architectural Designer vs. Architect

We get asked a lot as to whether someone is an architect or not or to be honest, whether that even matters.

It is quite shocking though sometimes to see someones face when they espous of their recently engaged architect and spent tens of thousands of dollars on fees, to find that they weren’t an architect at all. “But they’re called such and such architecture” I hear them cry, and this is where the waters really get murky. You see, in Australia, as well as the term ‘architect’ being protected, so is the term ‘architecture’ when used to describe a service which (in Australia) can only be provided by a registered architect. You see they saw the confusion etymology can play in the public looking to engage in a service which they perhaps might only use once or twice in a lifetime. Pretty cut and dry, whereas in NZ we allow such terminology to be used by anyone. When on occasion I have colleagues and friends from Australia come to visit, they all remark at the huge amount of architects we have in the area. Uh haaaaa, I say, they’re not architects, and they’re absolutely dumbfounded by the notion that the public are being mislead in such a way.

So what is the difference?

For complete disclosure I was once a draughtsman, or an “Architectural Designer” so I can speak with a certain amount of experience on this topic. A draughtsman has 2 years of tertiary education at a Polytechnic after which they receive a Diploma in Architectural Technology. Their focus is on the technical aspects of documentation and producing documents sufficient to gain a building consent. Typically you will use a draughtsman for simple jobs not requiring too much complexity and generally also at a smaller scale. They can be cheaper to engage, but it’s worth enquiring as generally architects and draughtsman have similar overheads and therefore the differences are not as much as you might expect.

An Architect has 5 years of university level education, where they receive a bachelors degree in the 3 undergraduate years and a Masters Degree on completion of the 5 years. Upon completion of the Masters, a further 2 years of documented experience is required under the direction of an architect before sitting an exam and being interviewed before becoming becoming a registered architect. It’s a lot of work so you can understand why architects get a bit agitated when someone calls themselves an architect when they’re not!

The reason being, the term “architect” is protected by law and is governed by the “Architects Act” which is an Act of Parliament. We have a Code of Conduct and a disciplinary board called the NZRAB. (New Zealand Registered Architects Board) who hold us to account and provide consumer protection to the client. Architects are able to work across all scales of the building industry and are also trained in design and problem solving when it comes to more difficult projects with lots of conditions and are able to administer construction contracts when the project goes to site.

So which is better?

To be honest, there are some good architectural designers out there, and there are also some not so good architects. Generally, the more complex a project, the more attuned an architect is to dealing with problems on multitudes of levels. We recommend that firstly you see if your architect really is an architect. Hit the button below which will take you to the NZRAB Architects register where you can find out for yourself. If they are not listed, they are not an architect and should not be calling themselves one. Someone calling themselves an architect when they’re not is misleading let alone illegal, and can be fined up to $10,000 by the NZRAB.