There's no question that Jennifer Froude has wholeheartedly loved the Omaha house she and her husband Peter have lived in for 22 years.
It's been a haven for them, their children and their grandchildren, and Jennifer says she feels privileged to have owned it.
She and Peter weren't looking seriouslyfor a bach at Omaha, but during a holiday at a friend's bach there they had a casual look at the local real estate, and spoke to an agent.
"Then one day through the fax machine -- yes, it was that long ago -- there came a picture of this house," Jennifer recalls.
Interestingly, Jennifer fell in love with the house despite that it was painted pale pink inside and out ("It wasn't good," she smiles) and Peter fell in love with the naked hectare on which it sat. Both, obviously, had enough vision to see what it could become.
Peter perhaps had the biggest job, turning the bare, waterfront section into a secluded, sub-tropical garden full of ornamental trees, palms, natives, fruit trees and vegetables.
"Peter created all of it," Jennifer says. "I don't know if even he knew he could do that. We have A-class peat soil so everything grows, and we have lots of produce -- blueberries, avocados, orchard fruit, raspberries and strawberries. Peter has even grown some roses for me."
Jennifer's challenge was to choose the colours for the house, and she admits to having quite a few test pots and pieces of cardboard stuck to the wall before asking Peter if he was all right with the colours. He said yes.
She went ahead with an adventurous colour scheme that, she says, she may not have used in a property in the city. "But it felt as though this house did it with me."
She was inspired by photographs she saw of the late Jane Evans' artist's cottage in Nelson, which was painted in similarly joyful colours. She limited her palette and chose variations on pale terracotta, buttery yellow and pink-apricot mixes. Her accent colour was blue, and the warm tones of the macrocarpa flooring add to the sunny atmosphere of the house.
Nine years ago Jennifer and Peter extended the building to accommodate a new kitchen, and it has shifted the house from the bach category to well-designed family home.
The ground floor has open-plan living, kitchen and dining area, which opens to north-facing decks. There's also a bedroom and bathroom on this floor. Upstairs is the master bedroom and en suite, and a spacious mezzanine lounge.
A separate studio with its own bathroom is linked via pergola to the main house.
Image 1 of 6: 127 Jones Rd, Tawharanui Peninsula.
"We inherited a happy home and it has continued to be that for us and our family, particularly our grandchildren, who love coming to grandma and grandpa's place at Omaha. The eldest is now 20 years old," writes Jennifer in her own tribute to the house. Peter has his own list -- absolute privacy, rich, black loam right to the water's edge, his garden, and the birdlife.
And, from virtually everywhere, there are views. The house sits right on the edge of Whangateau Harbour and the kayaks lined up on the lawn are evidence of the enjoyment the couple's children and grandchildren have had here.
"When I walk through the door into my house my eyes fill," Jennifer says. "It's truly beautiful. And we bought it on a day when the tide wasn't even in."
