6 Brett Ave, Takapuna, Auckland. Photo / Ted Baghurst
Around Takapuna and Milford, there are two sorts of people: lake people and beach people. Greg and Debbie Jones were pretty sure they were life-long lake people, loving their home and views of Lake Pupuke.
"Greg never wanted to move. We loved looking at the water. But about nine years ago Jelena, the agent who knows us so well, called up to tell us about this old bungalow on a beach street that we had to see," says Debbie.
"We lived here for a year, then got John D'Anvers to design the house. It was a really lovely project, Greg and I enjoyed it so much."
The bungalow had been mucked about with over the years, so the only things salvageable were the rimu floor boards - and a spreading old fig tree that became the centrepiece of the backyard.
The family - daughters Sarah and Chloe were teenagers at the time - lived in the house for a year to see the seasonal changes of sun on the spreading property, before briefing John.
The key words were "Shutters on the Beach", a gorgeous Arts and Crafts resort in Santa Monica where Greg loved to stay when he travelled for work, with its layers of architectural detail and history.
While the 530sq m house spreads over three floors, John has managed to capture the cosy traditionalism, with an airy modern twist.
He layered the facade with a series of welcoming porches and square bays, incorporating changes in roof lines and the garage facades to make the house fit modestly into the street, using traditional shingles, dentil mouldings and vintage-look trims, and the traditional proportions of bungalow windows.
The more contemporary sweeps of sliding-glass doors were left for the private back garden.
Inside John used clerestory windows and skylights for the generous entry and main corridor, balancing it with carefully proportioned beaded panelling and squared-off architraves and skirting boards.
Debbie said that their building team loved the old-school crafting the house required.
"Greg wanted a house with character, but the benefits of modern - an easy flow, insulation, double-glazing, security," says Debbie. "The brief was 'beachy elegant'. John knows us and gave us that lodgey feel,
a bit of character that spoke of elegance. When we found the European pre-distressed oak for the floors, we went with a large parquet layout that is easy but traditional."
The couple's brief was for a house of two halves - the ground floor for living and entertaining, and their own master suite, meaning the upper floor for the girls and guests could be closed off when it was just Greg and Debbie.
A discreetly placed lift that goes from the lower ground floor to the upper floor makes the house future-proof.
The street-front rooms off the entrance include a large double office with plenty of storage and room for Debbie to spread out her quilting, which she took up during the house build and has now turned into a business.
A sunny corner room is filled with books and the television, and a much-loved window seat from which the sea can be seen.
The back of the house has another favourite room, the great room of kitchen, casual dining and sitting room.
John pitched and beamed the ceilings, continuing the shape out to the covered veranda, a nod to the luxurious Shutters on the Beach porches.
A spa pool and swimming pool meet the flat lawn, with stone terraces wrapped around the gracious old fig tree.
Keen cook Debbie points out that the kitchen is a combination of show pony (a huge island bench that is everyone's gathering spot) and work horse (stainless steel benches around the cooker, a pantry for all her baking appliances, a separate fridge/bar servery behind cupboards at the dining end).
Her particular joy is the office tucked behind a sliding glass door for her hundreds of cookbooks and all the family organising bits and pieces.
John designed a series of sliding and bi-fold glass doors, in the style of old bungalow ones, to close off the formal living room with its fireplace, and dining room.
Greg was particular about which art pieces went where, so the architect made sure there was plenty of wall space.
In summer, all these rooms open together, in winter they can be cosy and private.
Practicalities were not overlooked: there's a small vege bed on one side of the yard, a clotheslines tucked down another, hedges are clipped to let in light but keep the yard private, and a corner of the driveway fits the family's jet skis that they could launch from the bottom of the street.
Debbie says that in summer she and Greg used to treat the pocket park at the edge of the beach as their personal evening wine-spot, or for morning coffees.
Upstairs, the girls' bedrooms are decorated with beautiful colours and curtains (Debbie worked with interior designer Gretl Lukas), and two of the rooms have access to sweet balconies that get sea views.
The lower ground floor was put to good use, with a man cave for the pool table, bar and workshop.
Debbie has converted the fourth garage into a studio for her vast computer-operated quilting machine.
But life has changed for the family, and with the nest rapidly emptying it is time to downsize and let the next family spread out in this meticulously finished beach-side home.
