Head for the hills

For Laura Shallcrass, having a house in the hills with space for horses was always a dream. Settled in Queenstown for the past 12 years with her husband, architectural designer Robbie Dick, Laura, who works as an illustrator and graphic designer, had been slowly moving towards realising this vision.

She and Robbie built their first home – a compact, two-bedroom, highly energy-efficient house – in the Lake Hayes Estate subdivision. It had room for chickens and a dog, and space for the couple’s two children, Boston and Monty to run around, but the horses had to graze elsewhere