With design ideals embedded in iconic rural architecture and a typical can-do number-eight approach to problems, Darren and Sharon Hunter of Hunter Design and Red Shed have ended up with a glorified shed cum sleepout in which the only new products used are the bolts and Resene paint.

The shed is on the couple’s holiday property in Martinborough and was originally conceived as a home for a ride-on mower, hence the ramp. “But we kept on improving it,” says Darren, so once it was insulated with commercial-grade batts, wired for electricity and lined, it became a sleepout.

The cedar weatherboards (now painted Resene Waterborne Woodsman CoolColour™ tinted to Resene Crowshead) were bought off TradeMe, the windows are from a 1950s house rescued on their way to the tip, the roof is made from second-hand corrugated iron, the interior cedar sarking was bought at Turners Auctions and the skirting around the bottom is made from left-over fence palings. Inside, the ply floor is painted Resene White, as are all of the exterior windows and trims.

The old segmented garage door (now in Resene Turbo) was owned by Darren’s brother and would originally have had four panels. With only three panels left, it was no use as a garage door but perfect for a ride-on mower shed door. At the back of the shed, a 1000-litre water tank catches rain water for the garden.

Of course, the improvements meant the mower was homeless once more, so another shed has been built. And now the couple, whose main home is in Paraparaumu, have a new project to keep them busy – upgrading an old garage into a holiday home and tending grapevines planted on the property.

Sucking up pollution

Electrolux will gather plastic from the world’s oceans and turn it into vacuum cleaners. The initiative, called Vac from the Sea, aims to bring attention to the issue of plastic pollution and at the same time combat the scarcity of recycled plastics needed for making sustainable home appliances.

A limited number of vacuum cleaners will be made from plastic debris harvested from the Pacific, as well as the Indian Ocean, Atlantic, Mediterranean, Baltic and North Sea. Anyone interested in the issue can follow the endeavor and find inspiration on how to get involved by visiting www.electrolux.se/vacfromthesea and Facebook. The vacuum cleaners will be put on display to decision makers and consumers as part of spreading the word.