SCHOOL ZONES:
Milford Primary,
Takapuna Normal Intermediate, Westlake
Girls' and Boys' high schools.
CONTACT:
Shannon Doell and Maria
Todd, Premium, ph Shannon 021 720 225
or Maria ph 021 743 187.
FEATURES:
Three-storey home with mid-
level family living and lounge areas within
the upper-master wing and ground-floor
children's wing. Off-street parking for two
vehicles, separate laundry, wine cellar and
double garage with marine carpet.
A collaborative design project between Synergy Homes and client Andrew McDowell has turned what Andrew calls "a well-proportioned" floor plan into his perfect family home.
It's hardly surprising really. Andrew, now an IT general manager and formerly a structural draughtsman in his native England, couldn't rein in his imagination whenhe and his English-born wife Liz saw the potential in this site. They'd actually bought one of two neighbouring Synergy-built homes and when Andrew realised he couldn't personalise the house quite as he envisaged, he and Synergy's developer happily tore up that sale and purchase agreement so they could buy the last remaining site and start anew. The transformation of this sloping site is evident well beyond the physical boundaries. Carex grasses and a cabbage tree replace grass on a verge that would have been too steep to mow easily. Beyond the stone front wall, a flat lawn has been designed with the possibility of a pool in mind. It's connected to the rear courtyards with a landscaped "dry" river of stones and pavers set against a backdrop of titoki natives and mature palms.
At the street front, a timber boardwalk with uplights sweeps below a canopy of mature queen palms to the front door and mid-level living areas of the house. The designer kitchen is the hub of the home with spotted gum Australian hardwood flooring, and a choice of materials that showcases Liz's taste for understated style. She liked the kitchen on the original plans, but liked what she saw in a design magazine even better, hence the warm, light golden composite stone island bench. The white opaque glass cabinetry - set flush in a stainless-steel frame - adds a subtle reflective glamour that takes nothing away from the eye-catching views to the north.
French doors on two sides connect the family room and the adjacent dining area to the wrap-around north-facing deck. The adjacent formal lounge shares the deep covered entertainment deck off the dining area for summer living and boasts a gas fireplace above a raised Brazilian stone hearth. On the top floor Andrew and Liz did away with walls to create an open space with a lounge, study and master bedroom, serviced by a separate walk-in wardrobe and en suite. They've given what they call their personal sanctuary complete privacy by adding a door at the top of the stairs that opens into the lounge and study before the bedroom area comes into view.
The master bedroom is far removed from the family living downstairs, as is the children's wing with its lounge, three bedrooms, bathroom and laundry on the ground floor. And it's here that another of this home's surprises is revealed. Maximising the unused space under the garage, Andrew has had a wine cellar/tasting room and separate storage room built in, all accessible off the ground-floor lounge.
The attention to detail is evident everywhere - from the stainless handrails, the butler's sink in the laundry and the linen cupboard with wall heater, to the cast-iron bath and rain showers in the en suite and by the spa pool.
It's eight years since Andrew designed a house in the UK and five years since they moved into this one. With two teenagers moving out, Andrew and Liz have decided on a lifestyle change.
