Seduction in the suburbs

After eight months of looking for a home, Amber and Malcolm Carr admit they made "an emotional buy".

When the couple came to look at their Livingstone St home, they were blown away by the flow of the open-plan living spaces to the outdoor dining area and swimming pool.

And it's not hard to see why. The rear living area has kauri floorboards through the dining room and kitchen on one level and then steps down to the carpeted lounge, which opens to the outdoors. Here, there is a deck with a glassed roof pergola, which also has a glassed southwest-facing wall in which an outdoor fire is set.

"It's beautiful out here in the winter or when it's a bit rainy," says Malcolm. "We put the fire on and you can sit out here most of the night."

Beyond the deck is a large in-ground heated pool that the couple has just landscaped down one side with palms and cycads. At the end closest to the house is a shower for rinsing off after a dip.

"Our routine almost every night is to jump in the pool and instead of giving [18-month-old son] Patrick a bath we put him in the pool then under the shower," says Amber.

From the kitchen, which has a large breakfast bar, you can also step down to the office, which has a small security gate to keep Patrick out.

The office was added on by previous owners to form a connection with what used to be a standalone garage that has been converted into a guest room. It has its own bathroom and a bed that folds down out of the wall. This means when Amber and Malcolm don't have guests they can use this space as an exercise room. This room also opens out to the deck and the secluded backyard.

"Even though we are right in the middle of Westmere, it's a very private section," says Amber.

One of the other features that attracted the Carrs to the house was its capacious storage and Malcolm - also known as George to his friends - has increased that by putting more storage in the attic space accessed by a pull-down ladder in the ceiling of the guest bedroom.

"George can't bear to throw anything out," says Amber. "So storage was important to us."

At the front of the house are the guest bedroom and master bedroom with Patrick's bedroom and a bathroom further down the hall. The large master bedroom has a working open fire and behind a false wall are a walk-in wardrobe and an en suite.

The Carrs, who were "planning on staying here 10 years", have also tidied up the front yard of the house to increase its street appeal.

"It was all overgrown and a bit slopey out here so we cleared it out and levelled it and did some planting," says Malcolm. The work means one of the home's character features - a walled patio at the entrance - is shown off to good effect.

The couple is planning a move to Tauranga after a spell in Rotorua so they can be closer to family and hopefully buy a lifestyle block.

"George was a farmer until about 10 years ago and he really misses the space," says Amber. "He wants to give Patrick cows and sheep and a vegetable garden - all that sort of stuff."

22 Livingstone St
Westmere