The one exception in this U-shaped, double-storey home is hardly an insignificant room. It is the secure, ventilated, bespoke wine cellar. From beneath the rain head shower in the upstairs, street-side master en suite there's a sea view; from the adjacent toilet there is also a sea view.
The downstairs guest bedroom looks out across the pool and courtyard through the sliding glass doors into the lounge and out beyond the far picture window to the sea. The dining room that opens directly off the hallway is centred between the two slender clifftop pohutukawa that frame the unobstructed sea views.
From the curved granite kitchen island bench you can see up to Long Bay beach. Giving each area its own identity while maintaining a functional connection was the key aspect of the design that perplexed Bruce early on. It was achieved by designing what John D'Anvers calls "different wall planes", setting the dining area back a little and crafting a curved, eucalyptus fastigata timber archway into the formal lounge.
The kitchen has a plywood timber bulkhead ceiling with unobtrusive perimeter lighting.
True to the architect's tradition of designing a signature door style for each commission, he created a template with a lattice motif. It is in the panelled timber doors, the leadlight glass doors, and the style of the archway and the stainless steel balustrades of the stairs up to the master bedroom wing, second guest bedroom and second lounge.
From the bar in this lounge to the deep sheltered tiled veranda overlooking the lawn, this home has intrigued and delighted guests and family.
Bruce never expected to be house-hunting again when he bought this property, but the time has come for him to look for a smaller home better suited to his life now.
