W hen Emma Langhorne was a little girl, her parents built their first family home. Drawn by the excitement of the build, Emma watched as the house rose from the ground, became framework with a roof and finally transitioned into the finished home that she would happily live in with her family.
Today, Emma is the Managing Director of Jennian Homes – CBD & East Auckland; just as passionate about building as when she watched her parents home being built.
With 16 years in the construction industry, her experience encompasses landscape construction through to helping customers design their homes – experience she brings to the fore when working with her Jennian customers.
“Building or buying a home is a hugely emotional process and I love the fact that we are helping to build our clients’ excitement for the building process,” says Emma.
“I love the fact that you start with a blank canvas and end up with the client’s dream home.” Emma explains that Jennian designs tend to be just a little bit more creative but that does not mean they cost any more.
Creativity, she says, does not need to always have a higher price tag – it is about using ideas and materials thoughtfully. “We’re a design and build company and people engage with us because they want something with a bit more personality – a bit more bespoke.
“Our process is quite sophisticated in that we take a lot of care and time working through the design process thoroughly.”
Before sitting down with the client, the Jennian team visits the section, investigating what can and cannot be done in terms town planning, practicalities, drainage and access, ensuring there is a full understanding of what is achievable.
“There’s that emotional factor as well – we get involved with our clients and that makes a difference because they feel our sincerity.”
That ‘getting involved’ means really taking time to know the customer, the things they value, what they like and dislike, what their priorities and individual peculiarities are.
Emma describes a time when Indian clients talked about the features they wanted in their house.
“They wanted a Pooja – Indian prayer room – but were a bit shy and started to describe a small room. I said: ‘Do you mean a Pooja’? They asked how I knew and I told them that a third of our clients are Indian so I get it. “We really think about our homes, our clients and what’s important to them.”
The Beachlands show home has a footprint of 217 square metres, includes four bedrooms and is clad in timeless weatherboard. A feature is the carpet made from regenerated fibre made from recycled synthetics.
Utilising a trusted team of contractors, Jennian Homes-CBD & East Auckland builds anything from conventional 150sqm brick and tile investment homes right up to $1.2 million Mt Eden architecturally designed homes. Just completed is the company’s new Beachlands show home.
“It’s a lovely four-bedroom 217sqm single level weatherboard home,” says Emma. “The comment that we constantly get is that people feel like they could move straight in – they feel like it’s a real home.”
One of the home’s many standout features is the Cavalier Bremworth carpet called Siren Ena, created with a 100 percent regenerated which is fibre made entirely from recycled synthetics, including fishing nets recovered from the oceans throughout the world. “The carpet is just beautiful underfoot.”
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