A grand oasis

This large, luxurious waterfront property is in a world and class of its own, writes VICKI HOLDER.

The first time Wendy Hart peeped through the gate at the ornate concrete villa, she knew it was where she wanted to live. This was just as well, as the two elderly sisters who owned this large waterfront estate with riparian rights weren't in the business of giving just anybody the guided tour.

Many others had been turned away, but the Moody sisters liked Wendy. When she arrived in 1976, the pair were well into their 80s and 90s. Along with their nine siblings, the sisters were born in the house, and they had lived there all their lives.

During the tour they didn't enter some rooms, as the sisters believed that the intrusion might harm the ornate hand-painted ceilings that had remained untouched since the house was built for the family in 1896.

The house and garden had seen better days. It took 13 men three weeks to clear the grounds with chainsaws. Two years later Wendy had tamed it, creating garden rooms with lawns terraced down to the pool, tennis court and beach. Half way down she added a spacious timber pergola.

During World War II the sisters took in lodgers, so the house was changed into flats and a second bathroom added to the balcony upstairs. When gas and power became available, rather than hiding the cables they were festooned along the ceilings.

Wendy had her work cut out for her converting the house back into one home with modern comforts. But as an importer of European antiques, she could see beyond the labour to the lovely proportions and the solid European ambience.

Now beautifully restored, the delicious warm character of the home has been preserved with many quality antique fittings. The interior evokes the romance of a classic boutique hotel on the Mediterranean. It's only the pohutukawa trees at the water's edge that give the game away.

So convincing is the renovation, the valuer who visited soon after the kitchen was completed remarked to Wendy that the house could be worth more when she did up the kitchen. Dark-stained American oak cabinets hide the modern Asko dishwasher and fridge/freezer, while imported round copper sinks are set in a kauri and marble island benchtop.

As in older homes, the scullery adjoining a long wine cellar provides masses of storage. Wendy says that her big Garland oven is the best in the world. The floor in the white, bagged brick dining room next door is made with 18th- and 19th-century French terracotta flagstones. It flows to a light-filled conservatory, which opens through bifolds to the kitchen and garden.

Wendy has replaced the sash windows with long, slim french doors in the dining room and the lounge, which extend the living area into the garden. The doors match those that open from the timber-panelled library to the wrap-around balcony upstairs. The solid American ash internal shutters in most rooms add an uncluttered, rustic appeal.

Bookshelves in the lounge flank an elegant, white, cast-iron fireplace. Just about every other room in the house features an original fireplace and all are in working order.

Upstairs, all three bedrooms are enhanced with stunning ceilings and new wardrobes, which are designed to look original. The front parlour, now a bedroom, has a pressed steel ceiling with the original paint. The third bedroom, now used as an office, features a pale blue, green, pink and cream fireplace to match the colour of the ceiling.

This big old home and its grand waterfront garden is close to the city, yet it's like stepping into another world - with all the luxurious comforts thrown in.

Vital statistics:

ADDRESS: 25 and 27 Marine Pde, Herne Bay.

FEATURES: Sympathetically renovated and restored ornate concrete villa built in 1896; original double garage with artist's studio; waterfront property comprising two sites on one property; beach access; riparian rights; landscaped garden with stone-base pool; tennis court; harbour views; original ceilings; antique fittings; kauri floorboards; gas central heating; three bedrooms; two bathrooms; conservatory; scullery; wine cellar; library; lounge and dining room; sound system throughout.

SIZE: Land area 2689sq m.

TENDER: Tender closes at 3pm, July 16.

AGENT: Gillian Brodie & Leila MacDonald, Barfoot & Thompson, Auckland city. Gillian: Ph 307 6340 bus; 308 9574 ah; 025 906 811 mob. Leila: Ph 524 0149 bus; 021 928 926 mob.