Privacy on high

Rubbing shoulders with the villas of Devonport and Cheltenham is a proud parade of houses that turn their shiny new faces out over the clifftops to the sea and Rangitoto Island. Among the relative newcomers is a solid concrete house designed by architect Stan Powley. It's caramel tinted facade is punctuated by a gridded pergola and large arched balcony, both suspended on quirkily designed columns featuring an inverted cone and row of blue accent tiles.

The 550 sq m house stretches the length of the narrow site with the living area, kitchen and master bedroom taking front row seats to the view. All of the rooms in the house are generously proportioned ... including the 4-5 car garage at the road front, designed in response to the current owners' passion for classic cars.

The entrance to the house is approached down an enticing colonnade of arched wrought iron palings topped with gabled timber struts. A row of lavender accompanies you to the tall, slatted wood front door.

Inside, the ground floor contains the living spaces plus one bedroom, great for guests or it could be used as a study or library. Between this and the formal dining room is a private side courtyard with a terracotta birdbath set into a ring of river stones. The formal dining room gets plenty of light through a curved bay of faceted, frameless glass and it shares a see-through gas fireplace with the formal living on the other side of the chimney breast.

The formal and informal living sit back to back and have quite different flavours.

The formal end is cosy with a flat ceiling and sage green carpet whereas the casual end has tiles underfoot and a vaulted ceiling above. It opens out through wide bifold doors on to a tiled patio just metres from the pohutukawas on the cliff edge.

The kitchen is so large, part of it has been sectioned off to form a sort of modern-day scullery in which there is extra bench space and plenty of cupboards. The kitchen itself is kitted out with a gas hob and granite benchtop.

Upstairs, another living area could be used as a TV room, games room or study. Or as an extension of the master bedroom as another sitting area.

The master bedroom has a private balcony with a gabled and arched portico overhead. Set with outdoor furniture, it's the perfect place for a quiet breakfast or late afternoon drink. The walk-in wardrobe has an entire cupboard designed for shoe storage (bliss), and leads to an ensuite.

At the other end of the top floor, two bedrooms and a bathroom can become a private apartment behind closed double doors.

One of the bedrooms is double-sized so could become a bedroom with sitting or study space or another living space. It sits within an attic-style roofline with dormers peeping to the sides.

A major plus for the house is its construction of solid concrete - walls and both floor plates. This makes it very warm in winter yet cool in summer, and needless to say, extremely solid.

Rimu joinery and detailing has been used throughout. Intriguing ceiling angles add to the house's designer appeal and carry comprehensive lighting to create mood.

The interiors provide the type of backdrop that could take any style of furniture. The owners have spent time in Hong Kong, and pieces collected there look just as appropriate as modern, linear furniture, or more traditional pieces.

Outside the garden contains exuberant hibiscus and rosemary and a grape climbs an arch at the side. In front the pohutukawas frame the view but don't limit potential beach access.

Below, there's a rare view of Cheltenham Beach but with the advantage of privacy on high.

Agent: Chris Wiley, Premium Real Estate. Ph 486 1727 bus; 445 8824 ah; 021 887 066 mob.