Chatswood: King of the hill

A couple stood their ground to get the home they wanted, then stayed to enjoy the view for 20 years.

56 Onetaunga Road, Chatswood

About 20 years ago Rolly and Michelle Doyle bought their dream section in Chatswood, but getting their dream home built on it proved a challenge.

The Doyles were living close by in Chelsea View Drive when the hill above them was opened up for development, and they paid $130,000 for the section on top of it in Onetaunga Road.

The development was managed in such a way that the Doyles had to buy their section through a builder who they then had to contract to construct the house.

The only problem was the home the builder had in mind was not one they wanted to live in.

"He created a design and we looked at it and looked at it, hummed and haaed, and the plans went backwards and forwards and then we said, 'Look, we don't like this; it's horrible'," says Rolly.

"So we sat down with an architect and we went though the things we liked about our old house and what we wanted in our new one.

"What we came up with was quite a futuristic design back then. We wanted to take advantage of the view and have some indoor-outdoor flow."

The three-level cedar weatherboard and plaster home has views across Auckland, the Hauraki Gulf and out to Coromandel on a good day.

"It's not just a view, it's a working view," says Rolly. "You can see everything on the move out there. You can see the ships coming in through the channel. If there's a fire in the city you can see it. You can see fireworks over the city. When they were doing the aerial spraying out east you could see the planes out over Howick, working backwards and forwards, dipping in and out of the valleys."

If the Doyles were in any doubt they had the best view in the neighbourhood, that was confirmed on the day that Concorde flew into Auckland while the house was still being built.

"We came up here to see it come in - it flew past Mt Victoria at about 500 feet," Rolly says.

And just as the Doyles planned, the house, which was finished in 1987, does open up to the outdoors nicely from the living areas. At the front of the house, the formal lounge, with open fire, has double doors opening to a deck. This leads down to the swimming pool and barbecue area, which has built-in seating around a table.

"We've had up to 15 people sitting around that table and if you have a barbecue in the evening it's really neat," says Rolly.

The basement has a games room with a bar and commercial bar fridge.

"We'd empty that fridge on a good night," says Rolly, aged 48, who owns bars and restaurants on the shore and in the city.

Outside the games room is a spa pool. It sits above a tiled patio that merges with the lawn at the rear.

Upstairs are the bedrooms with balconies at the front and rear of the house. Both the stairwell and slate-floored double-storey entrance hall have glass roofs to provide light and a sense of space.

Rolly says the home was conceived as "our own little island", and to emphasise that they planted palms outside the front fence in curving garden beds.

"We built this as a lifestyle choice, not as an investment. We wanted to live close to our families and didn't want to move out of the North Shore area."

The Doyles, who have three children in the 20s, now have a more manageable property in Herne Bay.

And while Rolly says it's a sad moment to be leaving "you've just got to suck the kumara and say it's time to move on".

"This would be a great home for a younger family. It's a neat area to live in; very quiet and we've never had a problem with security." And you know you'll have the best views in the neighbourhood.

Vital Statistics

SIZE: Land 779sq m, house 368sq m. PRICE INDICATOR: $1.5 million-plus.

INSPECT: Open homes Sat/Sun 1pm-1.45pm.

CONTACT: Peter Jones and George Lam, Prestige Realty, ph 489 2699, 021 233 0055 (Peter) or 021 980 218 (George).

FEATURES: Architecturally designed home with breathtaking views. Air conditioned throughout. Games room, bar, in-ground swimming pool and spa.