19 YOUNG STREET,
SCOTTS LANDING,
MAHURANGI EAST.
SIZE: Land 3372sq m, house 380sq m.
PRICE INDICATION: Offers expected around $1.8 million. Auction May 28.
INSPECT: Sat/Sun 11.30am-12.30pm.
ON THE WEB: www.bayleys.co.nz - #241647.
SCHOOL ZONES: Warkworth Primary, Mahurangi College.
CONTACT: Linda Goodfellow, Bayleys, ph 021 968 640 or(09) 425 7640.
FEATURES: Richard Priest-designed house on a waterfront section with riparian rights and views over Mahurangi Harbour. Infinity, solar-heated pool, three-car garaging and a large, private section just over an hour's drive north of Auckland.
How people pick their holiday retreat often depends on the good memories an area evokes - even when they haven't lived there before.
The strong sense of deja vu that Scotts Landing triggered in Jacqui Row-Porter's mind certainly helped her decide to buy a holiday home there six
years ago. "I had been out exploring on a Sunday drive when I discovered the Te Kapa inlet and Scotts Landing," says Jacqui. "I thought the harbour was magnificent."
Twenty-four years later, Jacqui was looking for a weekend retreat when she stumbled across the area in Mahurangi that had captivated her all that time ago.
The fact that a remarkable house designed by architect Richard Priest was coming on to the market was added luck. The minute Jacqui stepped inside, she knew the house was better than anything she had hoped to find. "The house looks simple when you see it from the road and you have no idea what lies beyond the facade."
But when she walked through the entrance way and across the stepping stones, which seem to float over the fishpond, she was sold.
Almost all the seaward side of the cedar house has sliding doors that lead out on to decks and magnificent views of the Te Kaha inlet, which you can also see from all the other rooms of this two-storey house.
The lounge, dining room and kitchen are open-plan and a sliding picture window opens from the living area directly out to an infinity, solar-heated swimming pool.
The four-bedroom house is in a quiet cul-de-sac off Ridge Rd in Mahurangi East which leads to Scotts Landing. A paved driveway down to the water's edge makes it easy to launch small boats directly from the 3372sq m property, which has riparian rights.
Established trees on the terraced section, which also has four raised vegetable gardens, give it privacy.
Inside, the house has been decorated predominantly in black and white, and neutral walls throughout are a great backdrop for Jacqui's collection of large artworks.
Although the house is spacious, Jacqui says it easy to heat in winter and ideal for entertaining small groups, as well as accommodating large numbers.
Jacqui will miss the many lazy lunches she has had with friends relaxing around the swimming pool and looking out over the inlet to yachts sailing through the heads.
But the death of a close family member in Australia means she is now spending much more time out of Auckland. "I love this house and it has great memories. What it needs now is a new family who can have as much fun here as I have."
