Head for the island life with this award-winning Waiheke retreat designed with luxury in mind, as VICKI HOLDER discovers.
In days gone by, when you escaped to your bach, you were headed for a simple makeshift shelter where you could be at one with nature in some great beach location.
Still a
popular concept, the bach has come a long way since then.
In the hands of designers like architect Andre Hodgskin, who is renowned for his much-lauded Bach Kit, the idea of the bach has undergone considerable refinement.
Take this stunning weekend retreat, poised on the waterfront above Oneroa Beach on Waiheke Island. Designed by Hodgskin for a family with teenagers, it has won a regional architectural award. With its many clever ideas, it's easy to see why.
Allowing the owners to get away from the city, the home is in a fairly urban spot, despite being on the island. A short walk from the cafes and restaurants of Oneroa, it nestles alongside neighbouring properties on a long narrow site to gain optimum beach views.
The challenge was to gain beach views to Oneroa in the north and Huruhi Bay in the south from as many positions in the home as possible. The idea was to retain a sense of openness and to ensure privacy and shelter from prevailing winds. Hodgskin managed the lot, creating a sculptural home that incorporates many luxury comforts.
The house is designed as two free-standing pavilions linked by a colonnaded tensile awning along a deck area. Enclosing the deck and ensuring privacy, the colonnade incorporates an outdoor fire and barbecue and stainless-steel exterior lighting, so the area can be used all year round, day and night.
A shell driveway leads past the garage to a series of ramped steps, which lead to the guest ramp (reminiscent of the boarding structure to the ferries which bring you to the island). Once inside the gate, the ramp continues alongside a tiled pool stretching across the entertainment court between the two pavilions.
The main pavilion rises two storeys above the central entertainment court and descends to the casual entry, the laundry, the wine cellar and the pool service room.
The huge, glass sliding cavity doors disappear through the wall, seamlessly opening the main living room level to the deck overlooking Oneroa.
Similarly, a glass wall on the other side of the living area slides into a cavity behind the stairs, creating a vast, uninterrupted, level entertainment area with beach views. Those staying in the guest pavilion to the rear can see the beach through the main living area.
With its restrained colour palette, the interior has a serene quality against the brilliant blue of the ocean and the sky. The white doors, with tiny anodised satin handles, almost disappear among the white walls and ceilings. The Italian Binova kitchen cabinetry is white and the terrazzo-topped island bench/servery features walnut-stained Tasmanian oak.
Great for entertaining, the kitchen includes electric and gas Miele stoves, a large hob, a fridge/freezer with an icemaker, a DishDrawer and a rubbish compactor. A fully extractable stainless-steel pantry maximises storage.
A fireplace and the entertainment gear are housed at the opposite end in Tasmanian oak cabinetry against a curved wall.
The uplights in the floor and the downlights in the ceiling have dimmer switches, so the large open-plan area can be broken up merely by varying the light levels. To maintain the clean lines of the architecture, the solar blinds at all the windows retract into the ceiling cavities.
Upstairs, the main bedroom suite looks down to the beach and across to Huruhi Bay. Bifolding glass doors peel back to a balcony with a glass balustrade. In addition, the bedroom opens through bifolds to the double volume of the living space below.
A spacious walk-through wardrobe leads to the en suite, where the designer vessels and tapware set off the terrazzo stone vanity top.
A handy guest bathroom beside the front door is fitted with a polished terrazzo stone vanity and a recessed basin. There is another full bathroom between the bedrooms in the guest pavilion. The pool bedroom opens on both sides, so that you can step out of bed and into the water. The second and third bedrooms enjoy access to a private deck with views over the petanque court to the water.
Suzanne Turley's landscaping caters for the coastal conditions with hardy natives, palms and olive trees around the perimeter.
Built to exacting design standards by owners who never moved in, this property could be a fabulous luxury holiday home or a fantastic permanent residence.
Vital statistics
Address: 183 Oceanview Rd, Oneroa, Waiheke Island.
Features: Award-winning Andre Hodgskin-designed waterfront home with sea views in several directions; two living pavilions joined by a deck and 10.5 m pool; guest bathroom plus two full bathrooms with mosaic and ceramic tiles, American standard toilets and Hydrotherm heated towel rails; sensor security; monitor at gate; data-intelligent wiring; speaker system indoors and out.
Size: Land area 1188 sq m.
Auction: At 2 pm on Wednesday, February 13, 2002, at Bayleys Maritime Square auction rooms.
Agent: Clive Lonergan and Kirsty Macky, Bayleys. Ph Clive 372 0073 bus; 027 4993 278 mob; Kirsty 375 8411 bus; 025 867 454 mob.
Head for the island life with this award-winning Waiheke retreat designed with luxury in mind, as VICKI HOLDER discovers.
In days gone by, when you escaped to your bach, you were headed for a simple makeshift shelter where you could be at one with nature in some great beach location.
Still a
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