Only the floor and a few walls of the original home on this breathtaking waterside property remain. The rest is the result of a major renovation by design experts Don Nelson & Associates, who have created a beautiful family home, befitting its sought-after location.
When the owners fell in love with
the Farm Cove property six years ago, they decided to do away with the flat-roofed, square block of a house they found. They wanted a much bigger home that maximised the northern sea views across the Tamaki Estuary to Bucklands Beach, Glendowie and the islands of the Hauraki Gulf.
Using a combination of curves, columns and extensive pergolas, the house has been transformed into a contemporary classic.
Inside walls were knocked down to make way for a modern, open-plan living area offering flexible living space for entertaining. Housing a large kitchen and three distinctive sitting and dining rooms, it can remain open as one large space. Yet, glazed cedar doors between these rooms can be closed to provide privacy when required. Even when doors to the tiled conservatory at the front are closed, people in the kitchen can look across the adjacent sitting area to the water.
Faceted vertical windows along the curved wall, which splices the entrance lobby and formal sitting space from the cas-ual dining and kitchen area, enhance the relaxed open and light feeling. The faceted windows are a feature repeated in various areas, such as in front of the formal dining and in the guest bedroom.
As soon as guests enter the house in winter, they are welcomed by the warmth of a gas fire enclosed in a column that rises up into the pitched ceiling on one side of the lounge. Windows high on the outside walls are shaded by cedar louvres, which can be angled to let in the winter sun.
An existing store room and workshop were converted into a new children's wing with two bedrooms opening to a rear patio, a bathroom and sitting area.
The sitting area (or games room) opens through double doors to the casual dining room and also has sea views. A door to a patio takes children along the side of the house directly to the beach. A passage in this wing gives internal access to the new double garage, which has a sink — anybody coming up from the beach can go through the garage to rinse off the sand before entering the house.
Adults and guests share a bedroom area off the lounge, beyond the study that sits beside the entry. The master bedroom, opening out to the patio, has a dressing room and marble en suite lit naturally by a curved wall of glass bricks. Guests can use the the fam-ily bathroom with spa bath next door.
Although the house is large and luxurious, the open layout and flow between inside and out captures a casual beachside atmosphere. French doors open from the main living spaces on to the patio and pool area. A timber and plaster pergola extends from the house towards the pool, making this a natural spot for al fresco dining. A sail cloth pitched outside the formal sitting area gives shade without blocking the light.
From this private patio, the family and their guests often watch the crimson sunsets across the glistening water in the west. They also enjoy watching the blue herons, dolphins and the occasional orca surfacing for a look along the shore.
The private, elevated area around the pool has been attractively landscaped with tropical palms, cycads, vireya rhododendrons, red bromeliads, Tahitian pohutukawa and agaves set in river stones and bordered by railway sleepers. A path made of sleepers leads down to an iron gate opening to a walkway that runs along the beach.
This immaculate home is set on a stretch of Farm Cove that is proving enormously popular among executives, and it's easy to see why. You can windsurf straight from the garden. Top schools, including St Kentigerns College, are nearby and the airport is a short drive away.
Vital statistics:
Address: 52 Bramley Dr, Farm Cove
Features: Four bedrooms, study, two bathrooms plus en suite, north-facing patio, sea views, lined and carpeted double garage, boat park, gas fire, solar-heated pool, putting green
Size: Land 1566 sq m; house 344 sq m
Auction: On site, Sunday, April 30 at 4pm
Agent: Jeanette Waters, LJ Hooker, Howick. Ph 537 0124 bus; 534 5616 ah; 025 984 764 mob.
Only the floor and a few walls of the original home on this breathtaking waterside property remain. The rest is the result of a major renovation by design experts Don Nelson & Associates, who have created a beautiful family home, befitting its sought-after location.
When the owners fell in love with
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