NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Property

Donna McIntyre: Designed with family in mind

By Donna McIntyre
NZ Herald·
16 Feb, 2018 04:00 PM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

73 Melanesia Rd, Kohimarama, Auckland. Photo / Ted Baghurst

73 Melanesia Rd, Kohimarama, Auckland. Photo / Ted Baghurst

As parents of young children, Karen and Graeme Beggs wanted to build this family home in durable, quality materials.

At times, those extra costs caused them to wonder if they had overstretched their budget and might be forced into selling once the architect-designed 310sq m home was completed.

But they gritted their teeth and finished the project in 1997 with Graeme doing a lot of the work — "It had always been my dream to build a home," he says — and moving in in July 1998.

Twenty years on, those children, two daughters, one son, are starting to fly away from this Kohimarama family nest; and Karen and Graeme have decided to downsize.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

As they think back over those two decades, they reminisce how they chanced upon this site while out for a walk. They had been living in Mission Bay, with a house on one section and a section beside where they had planned to build.

When they bought 73 Melanesia Rd, it had an older home on it. At first, they toyed with renovating, having made over other homes, but they decided this desirable level site next to Madills Farm deserved something more.

"Being flat, it was a very easy section to build on, no retaining walls needed," says Graeme.

The old house was demolished, and they got their heads together with their architect, Allan Shanahan. They'd already seen and liked his designs, confident that he, as a fellow parent, would deliver the family home they had dreamed of.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
73 Melanesia Rd, Kohimarama, Auckland. Photo / Ted Baghurst
73 Melanesia Rd, Kohimarama, Auckland. Photo / Ted Baghurst

They pitched their wish list.

"We wanted lots of wood, two living spaces, a large kitchen, five bedrooms — four up, one down," says Karen. "It is generous but not huge. It absorbs a lot of people. Friends would come here with their children, and we have had 21sts and birthday parties all through the children's lives."

"And we loved his vaulted ceilings, and the different lines rather than square boxes," says Graeme.

One feature they weren't so keen on was hallways, but they came to realise that having the wide hallway would ground the design, acting as a backbone for the home's dimensions and flow.

Appreciation of the design starts from the street front where the stone walls and palms add a distinctive Auckland look. The pedestrian gateway, the gate opening to the driveway and the cedar doors of the double garage define these areas and give strength and structure to the exterior.

The pillar, weatherboards and double front doors are all fashioned from cedar.

"We wanted a stand-out entrance to our house," says Karen. "That has been achieved by the cricket bat panels on the front door."

73 Melanesia Rd, Kohimarama, Auckland. Photo / Ted Baghurst
73 Melanesia Rd, Kohimarama, Auckland. Photo / Ted Baghurst

Spoutings and downpipes are copper. Interior walls are painted quarter Spanish white, working well with the rich tones of the cedar and kwila through the home.

The doors open to the hallway, with the internal entrance from the garage, the laundry and bathroom on the left and the guest bathroom at the end of the hallway.

Off to the right are two living areas — one more formal and leading out to the 10m-long heated swimming pool framed by kentia, bangalow and queen palms; and the other, the more relaxed living, dining and kitchen (with Ilve oven and hobs, Asko dishwasher and granite benchtops) leading out to the front deck area by the stone and brushwood fences.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Double french doors opening to the living spaces also have handsome cedar frames with glass panels, while the kitchen floor and informal dining flooring is hardwearing kwila laid in an intricate pattern. Kwila is repeated in the decking on this level and on the upstairs deck off the master bedroom.

The stairway, above which two bug-screened Velux skylights can be opened for fresh air, leads to the upper level and its four bedrooms — including the master with its en suite — and another bathroom. In some of the bedrooms, fetching triangular windows reach up to the vaulted ceilings.

73 Melanesia Rd, Kohimarama, Auckland. Photo / Ted Baghurst
73 Melanesia Rd, Kohimarama, Auckland. Photo / Ted Baghurst

There is only one house directly beside them. On the other sides are a creek and Madills Farm.

"And the house next to us was also designed by Allan," says Karen.

The couple say Kohimarama has been a fantastic base for their family. The children were able to nip through the gate in their fence to play soccer at the park next door, and they sailed their Optimists from Kohimarama's beach.

Bess, the labrador, enjoys her morning walks with Graeme, and on the way home he collects a coffee from locals' favourite, The Store.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Karen and Graeme hope the next owners will enjoy a familiar lifestyle to the one that has seen their family thrive.

"I would like it to go to a young family and they could also live here for 20 years," says Graeme.

"It deserves a family," says Karen.

They are moving to a smaller home just along the road.

"It's a lock-and-leave as we are in a position now to travel more and we want a smaller home," says Graeme.

On the web link

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Property

Property

Mega-mortgagee sale: Who has $60m to buy an entire apartment block?

05 Jul 07:56 AM
Property

Real estate agent sells Kawau Island homes while sailing the South Pacific

05 Jul 07:45 AM
Property

Historic mansion for sale after overseas owner abandons renovation

05 Jul 07:40 AM

Audi offers a sporty spin on city driving with the A3 Sportback and S3 Sportback

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Property

Mega-mortgagee sale: Who has $60m to buy an entire apartment block?

Mega-mortgagee sale: Who has $60m to buy an entire apartment block?

05 Jul 07:56 AM

Overseas buyers eye 46 newly completed units in Auckland's Takapuna.

Real estate agent sells Kawau Island homes while sailing the South Pacific

Real estate agent sells Kawau Island homes while sailing the South Pacific

05 Jul 07:45 AM
Historic mansion for sale after overseas owner abandons renovation

Historic mansion for sale after overseas owner abandons renovation

05 Jul 07:40 AM
‘100% now is the time’: Prices drop by as much as $300,000 in heritage suburbs

‘100% now is the time’: Prices drop by as much as $300,000 in heritage suburbs

04 Jul 07:05 PM
Gold demand soars amid global turmoil
sponsored

Gold demand soars amid global turmoil

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP