Woodhill: Ahead of its time

A couple built their dream home in the country with a view to retiring there, but found they were getting ahead of themselves. 

273 Rimmer Road, Woodhill. 

A place to retire was what Terry Slade-Baker had in mind when he and wife Liana built their country retreat three and a half years ago. 

They'd bought the Rimmer Road property - near Woodhill Forest - about a year earlier when they were living in Grey Lynn and decided to go with one of the updated Lockwood homes, the Pavilion, designed by architect Pete Bossley. 

"It was a bit of a lifestyle choice and there was also that early retirement thing," says Terry, who produces television commercials. "But, frankly, it's too early." 

The couple, who now live in Westmere, decided to sell rather than split their time between homes. 

However, Liana and Terry did achieve one major ambition: getting the house finished so it could host their wedding in December 2002. 

The recently completed house with its two ponds surrounded by willows provided a perfect backdrop for their nuptials. 

"I sourced all the things personally so we had fantastic wine, fantastic food and great music in an environment that was idyllic," says Terry. "And our wedding sort of broke a bottle of champagne on the house, too, so to speak." 

And guests were told that if they insisted on bringing a gift it had to be either "a plant or something with cabernet or merlot in it". 

Terry says they received 60 plants, all of which were tagged with the names of the people who bought them. He says it's given them great pleasure over the years "to wander around the property looking at the names on the plants". 

But it's the mature trees near the house - willows and an oak - that frame the ponds and give the home with its sloping schist pillars a look of permanence. Terry says he and Liana liked the original Lockwood design but they made some changes: opting for a batwing roof, cavity sliders for the rooms, a wider hallway and a tinted concrete floor. 

The concrete theme continues in the kitchen with a poured concrete island, while the dining table, coffee table and entertainment unit are made from a mix of fibreglass and concrete. Terry says all were colour-matched with the floor so they appear to emerge from it "in an organic fashion". 

The kitchen, which faces north and overlooks the pond, has Poggenpohl cabinetry and Gaggenau appliances. 

The master bedroom, which opens to a covered patio to the east, has an en suite, while the guest bedroom has a connecting door to the main bathroom. 

While the timber paneling and ceilings in Lockwood homes can be a little oppressive, Terry and Liana have overcome this by using blonded wood, strong splashes of blue, and lots of windows and glass doors. 
 
Outside there is a double garage with a large games room at the rear that Terry says could easily be converted into self-contained accommodation. 

Across the drive from that is a garage/workshop and back across the drive again is a shed where trailers and firewood are stored. 

Terry says because the 2.5 ha block was originally a deer farm it is fully fenced and that makes it ideal for his husky, Stoli. 

Although the retirement plans might be on hold, they're still on Terry's mind. 

"We thought we'd spend the next five or six years working and find another piece of land to build a sunshine house on. When we retire we'll knock it down and build something decent - probably something pretty much the same as this." 

Vital Statistics 

BEDROOMS: 3 

BATHROOMS: 2 

GARAGE: 3 

SIZE: Land 2.54ha, house 175sq m, garage/games room 95sq m. 

PRICE: $1.3million. 

INSPECT: Sunday 3-4pm. 

CONTACT: Anne Butler, Barfoot and Thompson Kumeu, ph 412 5640, 021 975 856 mob, 09 420 8148 a/h. 

FEATURES: Fully fenced country retreat with its own ponds. Open plan living with modern kitchen and quality appliances. Garage and games room, workshop, storage shed. Solar powered water heating. Pump to take water from pond for irrigation.