40 Sunny Brae Cres, Westmere, Auckland. Photo / Ted Baghurst
After years of renovating properties, Lindy Stoyanof was delighted she didn't need to make big changes to this house and its views over Meola Reserve. The previous owners had built it but sold before moving in.
Lindy says: "I walked in, saw the view out to the northwest and thought
'Yes, this is us'.
"We've always had views from our houses and here our view goes from Motat all the way around the Waitakeres and to the North Shore."
Lindy and her husband Marko had lived in Herne Bay for almost 30 years, renovating successive homes, including their previous house on Masons Avenue.
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They wanted something smaller. Says Lindy: "Westmere is so handy to everything and I loved the fact it was a new build and we could walk in, put our belongings away and not have to worry about anything.
"The only thing was there were no window coverings and we moved in at exactly this time of year when it was too late to get blinds manufactured before Christmas.
"But we used some packing cases and sheets for privacy until our blinds arrived."
The weatherboard home has painted brick accents and an interior-access, carpeted double garage with smart laundry.
Outside, Lindy has added fencing and planted contrasting foliage.
Interior decor favours light tones, with oak flooring in the entrance hall, main open-plan living and downstairs powder room with Woods wallpaper.
The exception is a media room opening to a northerly deck that had walls already painted charcoal when the Stoyanofs bought here.
Lindy says: "I've never felt that's it's a dark room and I'm quite taken with the colour — I'd use it myself."
An angled ceiling soars above the open plan living-dining-kitchen.
This has a David Trubridge light and a gas fireplace supplementing central heating, which the Stoyanofs extended upstairs. The entertainers' kitchen has integrated appliances, including a drinks fridge under an island bench.
Its splash-back uses the identical textural white tiles that Lindy had used in their previous home.
Marko's domain is outside. He has a gas and a charcoal barbecue by the bolted-down umbrella on the large deck at the rear of the house.
Lindy jokes: "My husband's parents were Bulgarian and Māori and I think that heritage helps him be brilliant on the barbecue.
"We'd probably use the barbecues 90 per cent of the year. We like the taste and it's so quiet and private out here."
It's an added bonus, says Lindy, when pohutukawa around the nearby Weona-Westmere coastal walkway bloom, producing a blazing red spectacle.
Lindy initially thought an additional deck opening off the southeasterly side was a bit of a fishbowl.
But now that hedges have grown and she's added a living wall for privacy it's one of her favourite places for coffee.
Upstairs, the master bedroom has far-reaching views, walk-in wardrobe and en suite, and the front bedroom of daughter Izzy — who has plans to study in Wellington next year — flanks a luxurious main bathroom, third bedroom and long study nook.
Now that Izzy is leaving home, Lindy and Marko have plans to trial apartment-living in a rental that they own. That and travelling and visiting their son, who lives in Paris.
40 SUNNY BRAE CRESCENT
• 3 bedrooms, 2 bathroom, 2 parking spaces.
• Land 584sq m, house 243sq m.
• Auction: Nov 28.
• Inspect: Sat/Sun 1.30-2pm.
• Contact: Matt O'Rourke, Barfoot & Thompson, 021 375 909; Ryan Harding, 021 621 580.