12a Seacliff Ave, Belmont, Auckland. Photo / Ted Baghurst
There is much Jill and Chris Beckett enjoy about their cliff-top property on its own promontory between Takapuna and Narrowneck beaches, but the room that most delights friends and visitors from overseas is the separate guest suite.
"We used to have a business with lots of overseas visitors — they loved to stay here," says Jill. "We put a sitting room upstairs, the bedroom and en suite downstairs, with french doors to its own side garden, views of the sea. It's its own world."
The rare seaside position — Rangitoto Island is front and centre of their views, while to the south you can see St Heliers, and the Coromandel and Barrier beyond — was a chance find by Chris 23 years ago. He spotted the for sale sign and called Jill to say he'd found the house they had to buy.
It was easy to fall in love with the location, tucked down a right-of-way and edged by bush (the reserve and path to the beach is right next door). For years the couple and their youngest son Henry (older kids had already left home) were perfectly happy in the 1937 two-storeyed bungalow.
Eventually they planned to renovate, but were stymied when they discovered that the dozens of 26 metre-plus piers needed to shore up the cliff would have to be brought in by barge. It quickly became apparent that it would be better to demolish the old house and build anew.
Wanting to honour the bungalow style of the old house and neighbourhood, they called on architect Barbara Draper to design an updated version of a classic weatherboard house.
It took three years to build, the family decamping to a house across the road. Jill says they watched as all the old windows, joists and floorboards were dismantled for recycling. The family finally moved back across the road in 2010.
Chris wanted long lasting materials, so in addition to the massive structural underpinning, he specified a masonry construction wrapped in weatherboards. With high ceilings and generous verandahs off the top two floors, the seven-year-old house now looks as if it belongs to another era, albeit with modern insulation, electronics and fit-out.
Vintage touches in light fixtures, wide plank oak floors, and the encaustic tile and bevelled glass door at the entrance provide a period-appropriate backdrop for the couple's antiques and art.
Builder Tim Sullivan was a stickler for detail, insisting on finishes such as the mitred tongue and groove boards lining the verandah ceilings. Jill and Chris wanted a place that would welcome crowds for entertaining.
All summer long, extra high french doors open the living and dining room to the veranda and view, while white plantation shutters can be slid across the side and front to shelter from off-shore winds.
Jill designed the German kitchen, timeless in grey-baked lacquer with black glass trims and linen-textured stainless steel benches. A scullery around the corner hides cooking mess (it has a second dishwasher and freezer, as well as plenty of bench space).
Slick Fisher & Paykel double oven and fridge are complemented by hand-made white subway tiles. More texture is introduced in the old-wood mantlepiece over the living room fire.
As well as the guest suite with its own entrance, the main floor also houses a generous double bedroom, family bathroom and a third bedroom that has always been used as the Beckett's office. There's also a guest loo.
Downstairs are the family's sleeping quarters. A sitting room has the television and more doors opening to the lower veranda. The master bedroom shares the view and seating area, a gorgeous retreat that includes a luxury en suite and well-appointed walk in closet.
Henry's bedroom and bathroom open to a side terrace that has stairs leading down to the pool and garden. But he is now based at university in Scotland, so the Becketts have decided it's time to move into something smaller — as long as it's in the neighbourhood with sea views.
On the lower ground floor is a pool, protected from sea breezes by a classic scoria block wall. There's a changing room and a second room plumbed to be a bar/kitchenette in the future.
Careful landscaping, including pruning of the old pohutukawa, help to frame the views and blend the Beckett's garden with the nikau and pohutukawa of the reserve next door.
And then there's the 'secret' room — a cellar that's a favourite for winter dinner parties. It has a kitchenette and cosy sitting room around a fireplace and is lined with shelves for wine and more of the couple's collection.
"It's been a fantastic place to live," says Chris. "It's beautiful, no matter what the weather.
We get all the birdlife from next door, there's always action to watch out on the water."