Te Atatu: Full house

Maurice and Trudy Scown (far left) wanted their children to live at home for as long as possible, so created a vast family retreat to make them and their friends feel welcome. Photo / Geoff Dale

The owners of this large home in a secluded pocket of suburbia are used to having their family and friends stay for long periods.

For most parents, having adult children living at home can be a mixed blessing. But Trudy and Maurice Scown were so keen to make their kids feel welcome at home for as long as possible, they created a spacious family retreat to avoid that "empty nest" feeling.

"We're very family oriented," says Trudy. "We hoped our children would stay at home forever."

Since the Scowns bought and fully renovated their 1970s Te Atatu house nearly eight years ago, it has been a welcome haven for their relatives and many of their children's friends.

Their daughter Nicole, now 26, lived at home right up until moving to London three years ago, and son Mark, 24, has only recently left home so that he can live closer to his new job.

"We nearly always have someone staying. They come for a few days and often end up staying for weeks," says Trudy, who prefers a full house to an empty one.

Visitors are never a problem because the house - which sits on a secluded 3036sq m of land down a long driveway - has four bedrooms and three large living areas, as well as a fully self-contained, one-bedroom flat.

"At one stage we had about seven people living here, including parents, our kids and a nephew. But the house is designed so that it can absorb large numbers without feeling crowded. Everyone can have their own space without getting in other people's way."

Now that both of their children have moved away, the Scowns have reluctantly decided that it's time to move to a smaller house and garden. "We float around here, the house is so big. But we are westies through and through so we'll try renting first in a different area before we buy, because we may miss Te Atatu too much," says Trudy.

Both she and Maurice have lived out west since they were small children. Trudy says about 40 friends lived in the same street as her when she grew up and many of them still live in the area.

Maurice's commercial interiors design business, Accent, is also based five minutes away at the Henderson concourse.

When they renovated the house, the only extra floor space they added was a few metres in the kitchen and a deck to an upstairs lounge and office that double as a kids' living space and TV room.

They improved the flow of the house and made the downstairs living areas feel much more spacious by cutting holes in existing walls so there was a sense of connection between the kitchen, dining room and two of the living areas.

"When we moved in there were too many small separate spaces and we wanted to get the rooms to flow better."

The decor was also primarily brown, which gave the house a poky, closed-in feel. It took four tries to find the perfect shade of off-white paint, which now covers all of the interior walls and adds to the house's light, airy feel.

"We thought we would do a few minor alterations but it turned into a major overhaul."

The makeover has included new carpets, a remodelled kitchen with a black granite bench, ceramic wall tiles and double fridge, and two completely new bathrooms.

The house faces north and is designed to catch the sun all year, especially in the winter months when it is much lower.

All of the bedrooms and the kitchen open to a brick-paved internal courtyard and look over to a large rectangular swimming pool and tennis court.

The master bedroom and en suite are at the front end of the house and the other three bedrooms are at the far end on the other side of the kitchen and living areas.

"That was an absolute saviour when the kids were coming and going as teenagers," says Trudy.

A dangerously narrow and steep staircase, which originally led to the upstairs living area, office and deck, has been converted into a wine cellar adjacent to the kitchen. A new set of stairs now leads up to the second level.

"The architect tried to talk us out of spending so much money on altering access to the upstairs, but it was worth every penny for the kids to be able to disappear up there and have their own space."

The upstairs area is also large enough to double as a home gym. That's if you want a more rigorous alternative to sweating it out in the spa room downstairs or the separate sauna room just outside the house. The sauna room also has a separate shower and toilet.

The property has a long driveway running down one side of it and a park on the other, so it feels secluded. "Having no neighbours is probably one of the best things about living here," says Maurice.

Vital Statistics

ADDRESS: 170 Te Atatu Rd, Te Atatu.

FEATURES: Four double bedrooms; two bathrooms; office; three living areas; sauna; spa; tennis court; swimming pool; underfloor heating and central heating; video security and electric gates; self-contained one-bedroom flat with separate entrance.

AUCTION: March 23. Similar properties in this area have sold for more than $800,000.

AGENTS: Steve and Diane Miles, Barfoot & Thompson. Steve 025 988 386 mob; Diane 021 668 004 mob; 838 7967 ah.