Although The Black Barn was to be temporary accommodation while Annie and Mark Forrest planned and built on this section close to Warkworth, Annie, a stylist, was always going to make it a warm, welcoming home during their year's stay.
Annie and Mark still commute to work in Auckland butsay the urban price rise forced them to look beyond the city boundaries for a home.
"If we spent a million dollars on a house in Auckland, we couldn't do it up and pay the mortgage," says Annie. "All the houses we looked at were like dog kennels. I started looking around Whangaparaoa and Rodney."
The board and batten barn was on a 1ha lifestyle block with a building site. The barn had been built by the previous owner, but no one had lived in it.
"I saw it about a year ago and we bought it that week," says Annie. "It is close to Warkworth and all the schools, 10 minutes away from Matakana."
"We thought the lifestyle up here is such a great opportunity. Mark is a builder and we both commute. The drive to Auckland is only 35 minutes if you avoid peak times."
Annie and Mark set to work on the barn's interior, allocating space for living and bedrooms.
"We have put in a lounge, a kitchen (not consented), wood burner and three king-sized bedrooms.
"I have dolled it up. I am a collector and I style for magazines and photoshoots, so it is looking quirky and cute."
Image 1 of 5: Making this building a welcoming home was a fun project.
Coming into the barn you walk into the open-plan kitchen and living (opening to a patio) and then there is a hallway with the two downstairs bedrooms and bathroom. Upstairs is a loft with a king-sized bed and storage.
Bathroom (with high pressure showers, thanks to gas water heating) and laundry were already in the barn but Annie and Mark sectioned other rooms off with Gib board.
"I have accentuated the fact that it is a barn, it is playful and colourful and has lots of industrial vintage finds. It is funky. It has a nice polished concrete floor. It is really cosy; you don't feel like you are living in a barn."
The barn has covered parking for vehicles and boats, and the section is in lawn with fruit trees. "We have done a little bit of landscaping but not much," says Annie. "We just mow the lawns and spray all the boundaries."
Annie also has a studio here. "It has beautiful views and would work well for a work-from-home office, a chiropractor or a beautician."
Having done up the barn, they proceeded to have house plans drawn.
"There is an elevated building site on top of the hill which gets stunning views. You see the whole of Warkworth, rolling hills out to Kaipara, and Little Barrier on a really clear day."
The septic and the power are already done for a five-bedroom home.
But now they have decided to buy rather than build. The build baton is being passed to someone else to enjoy the property as well as the vineyards, local market, cinema and Omaha Beach.
