Whitford: Community spirit

The owner of this fabulous property brought the neighbours together during the redesign to provide an environment for everyone to enjoy. By VICKI HOLDER.

Some country homes are merely big city houses plonked self-consciously on their sites. Clinging to the fortress mentality that's part of the suburban psyche, they ignore the freedom to blend into the grander scheme of nature.

This home, designed by architect Harry Turbott, has an almost organic relationship with its natural environment. Cupped in the contours of the hills that roll gently down to the beach, it exudes a sense of harmony that makes even first acquaintances seem like homecomings.

When John and Nanette Boyd-Dunlop inherited a large coastal property on the Broomfields Peninsula in Whitford, they didn't want to lose the feeling of living in the wide-open spaces. John had grown up on the property and the thought of ugly boundary fences horrified him. He was sure there was a way to subdivide the land by working with neighbours to create a scheme that protected everybody's harbour views across the expansive grounds.

Integral to his plan was architect Harry Turbott, who credits John with having the imagination and determination to make it work. "What they've done," says Harry, "using the normal town planning regulations, they've arrived at a landscape that's five times more spacious than it would be otherwise. They've opened up the whole area, so instead of a tight little compartment it's infinitely spacious."

He continues: "John also wanted to protect the Gulf views for other people. That's an unusual thing. Normally people just design their own thing and to hell with everyone else. But John looked after his neighbours as well. They are a very happy group of people.

"Then he landscaped it in a way that's easy to maintain. The property isn't big enough for sheep and cows, but John has achieved something with very few edges. It's often the edges that need 90 percent of the maintenance. They've ended up with a very special garden. People in Auckland feel crowded out and threatened. So they move out to the country and put up walls all around.

"There's a feeling of space but you don't feel intruded upon. There's still a feeling of security about it. Normally you do that with a fence, but they've done it with landscaping."

Dotted with large ponds, the grounds of John and Nanette's five neighbours merge to form one incredibly spacious environment. Turned into an undulating seven-hole golf course, it kept to the easements with viewing corridors of the sea. The boundaries are there, you just can't see them, so they don't obstruct the views.

Turbott helped the Boyd-Dunlops with low-maintenance planting around the ponds. An eclectic mixture of punga and silver ferns is mixed with flowering varieties to introduce colour every month of the year. The trees on the property, including Taiwanese lilies, camellias, kowhai and magnolias, are underplanted with Formosan lilies, renga rengas and daisies.

Everything relates to the landscaping, including the house, which Turbott also designed. He came back twice to alter and enlarge the original cottage to make it suit a family. The latest renovation, completed three years ago, was so substantial it may as well be a new home. But it has already acquired the warm flavour of a home many years older.

Says Turbott: "The thing that makes the house really liveable is the intimate connection between inside and outside. The materials are soft and the colours gentle to fit into the garden, rather than dominate it. Both are designed to flow into one another."

It's also very people-friendly. "Everyone I know who goes there feels good," he says. It's not a fashion statement, but has a timelessness about it, so it will "look just as good in 20 years time as it does now, even better".

An ample, welcoming entry hall is filled with artwork by the Boyd-Dunlops' son, Richard. He lives and works in the large, self-contained accommodation (offering flexible spaces) in the garden.

The expansive living areas, whose functions are defined by the furniture, are enjoyed from a big, traditional-style kitchen designed by Marti O'Brien. Prudence Lane was responsible for the colour selection. Nanette knew what she wanted, but Prue helped her put it all together.

Like the living areas, all the bedrooms open to the garden. Two bedrooms on the ground floor step out to decks with a modern tiled bathroom behind. The master suite eases out to a balcony with picturesque sea views. The fourth bedroom, used as an office, has its own access.

At night, the Boyd-Dunlops retreat to a cosy TV room/library at the top of the stairs. Beautifully lit with bold red walls, this small, calm, nurturing space is the perfect place to end a busy day.

Vital Statistics

ADDRESS: 247 Broomfields Rd, Whitford.

FEATURES: Low-maintenance lifestyle property designed by architect Harry Turbott to merge with adjoining properties for space, privacy and harbour views; share of seven-hole golf course; large ponds landscaped with native planting; large, totally renovated and enlarged home by Harry Turbott, interiors by Prudence Lane, kitchen by Marti O'Brien; expansive living areas include formal/family and dining spaces that flow outdoors; intimate library upstairs; four bedrooms; three bathrooms; double garage plus storage; self-contained accommodation below with large living areas, single bedroom and bathroom.

SIZE: Land size 2.5ha.

TENDER CLOSES: September 29.

AGENT: John Mason, Bayleys, Howick. Ph 535 5480 bus; 021 930 530 mob.