Milford - In the swim

A seaside mansion with a brand new interior lies empty and waiting for a new owner.

29 Muritai Street, Milford.

Gary Messenger says his father's heart surgery has prevented his parents returning to the house since their first holiday there 18 months ago.

Milford beach lies on the other side of the property's rock wall, seen on the right.

There are not many homes in which a feature of the front entrance is a glimpse of an indoor pool.

But that's what catches your eye as soon as you pass through the oversize front door of Muritai, as the name above it proclaims, positioned beneath a Maori carving.

The 8m pool fills the centre of the house. Curved at one end and dressed with indoor palms that reach up through the glass atrium, it lies at the bottom of three levels.

A staircase linking the floors zig-zags up at its northern end; walkways run the length of the 600sq m house, linking the rooms at each end.

Yet the pool is only part of the dramatic statement made by its architect, John D'Anvers. Built in 1990, it was bought about two years ago by James and June Messenger of Guernsey Island, off England.

It was to be their holiday house when they visited their son Gary and his family in Auckland. They refurbished the entire interior, bringing D'Anvers back to update his design.

Yet they spent only one four-week holiday here before James required heart surgery, and they have not been able to return since.

It has stood empty all that time, and the couple have now decided to let a new owner enjoy its many pleasures while they search for something smaller.

When you can tear your eyes away from the pool at the entrance, you find yourself looking straight through the middle of the house to a courtyard filled with tropical greenery.

Turn left past the formal dining room, and you enter the open plan kitchen, dining and living area. It is the view across the sea to Rangitoto, and the big sky above it, that takes your next breath away.

It draws you out to a terrace at the front of the house, where all that separates you from Milford beach is a wall made of volcanic rock. Because the house is at the end of a cul-de-sac, all you can hear is the slap of the waves.

Volcanic stone tiles feature both inside and outside the house, their rough texture matching the rough finish of its plaster exterior and the exposed roughsawn beams and posts.

This rustic finish, painted an earthy ochre, makes it feel like an Italian mansion by the sea.

Walk back across the rich red rosewood floorboards in this northern end of the house, past the pool and you find two big rooms opening into each other at the house's southern end. Separated only by a double-sided gas fireplace, they could be another lounge, a study, library, games room or home theatre.

Upstairs the enormous master bedroom is swathed in the view, and opens to its own terrace. The bath in the en suite is also positioned to allow its soaker to check the waves. There are three more bedrooms and another bathroom up here.

On the bottom level is a self-contained apartment comprising a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen/living space opening into its own courtyard, and another room by the pool that could be a lounge or a gym. A fun touch is a window in the wall allowing an underwater view of swimmers.

On both sides of the pool rows of French doors open into tropical courtyards, although real estate agent Sheryl Allis points to shutters that can be left closed if swimmers want to feel completely private but still let the breeze waft through. ``At night, with the lights highlighting the plants and the water, it is just magical.''

VITAL STATISTICS

BEDROOMS: 5

BATHROOMS: 4

GARAGES: 3

SIZE: Land 810sq m, house 600sq m.

PRICE: $5.995 million.

INSPECT: By appointment.

ON THE WEB: www.bayleys.co.nz # 450830

CONTACT: Sheryl Allis, Bayleys, ph 0212 850 402, 414 0951 bus.

FEATURES: John D'Anvers-designed mansion right on Milford Beach. Brand new interior that has been lived in for only four weeks. Indoor pool, self-contained apartment on bottom level. Wine cellar. Four living areas, three of which could be used in a variety of ways.