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Home / Property

Westmere water baby

5 Dec, 2001 11:07 PM4 mins to read

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With the Waitemata Harbour all around, a boatshed, a 13m swimming pool and a floodlit tennis court, this classic coastal family property has all the toys, as VICKI HOLDER reports.

About five minutes from Ponsonby, The Point is as far removed from suburbia as it gets.

Turning its back on the neighbours,
this large Peter-Sargisson-designed home in Coxs Bay, Westmere, is virtually surrounded by the Waitemata Harbour.

Its only land connection is along the right-of-way to the rear. Focusing east, north and west, the house looks out through big curtain-free expanses of glass to the tranquil inner harbour. Framed by scarlet-blossomed pohutukawa, this is classic coastal living.

So intimate is the property's relationship with the sea, its owners say it's like living on a boat. Moving in tune with nature, you are nudged gently along by the unhurried pace of changing tides and weather patterns.

On weekends, breakfast can be enjoyed in the big, open-plan family area that is adjacent to the kitchen. You can read in the sun and appreciate the view, the birds and the boats.

Bach-like in the way it opens to the natural landscape, it offers the family many luxury comforts and extras.

According to the owners, the neighbours socialise on the beach and meet to check their boat moorings.

Families can learn to sail in the surrounding calm safe water. On a still day, often the only sound to be heard is the flap of a sail as a boat navigates its way around the property.

The owners launch their boat from the two-storey boatshed a few metres from the house. Opening to a deck looking across the water, the upstairs level is just as enticing for quiet contemplative study as it is for noisy teenage parties.

The family came to The Point in 1985. With the architect, they designed the home to connect every room with the sea and to follow the sun all day.

From the double garage and parking forecourt, the entry emerges in a soaring atrium living space that is flanked by the floodlit tennis court. All four bedrooms and the big study look down over a mezzanine gallery into this spacious, light-filled living room.

Merging the indoors and outdoors was an important aspect of the design. The deep, glazed eaves extend from the atrium and the family area, making these spaces ideal for summer entertaining.

A formal dining room and lounge with an open fire extends through cavity doors and small-paned cedar and glass bifold windows to a sunroom, which spills into the garden. From this room, many hours are enjoyed watching the sun as it lingers behind the distant Waitakere Ranges.

The individual rooms, all with gleaming parquet floors, can be enjoyed separately as intimate spaces. Yet, when the doors are open between the family living room, the formal space and the atrium, the notion of casual and formal disappears. Areas entwine as one big entertainment space that is capable of accommodating huge gatherings.

Cut off from the rest of the house, a small television room with a mezzanine library provides a quiet retreat off the atrium. Near the entry, the laundry, the wine cellar and the guest bathroom are the only rooms not to share the magnificent views.

From the kitchen, the owners can peer out through windows and see 270-degree vistas. There's plenty of glass in this home, as well as large expanses of wall space for the family's rapidly expanding art collection.

Just as art has played a role in shaping the warm appeal of the interior, the plants around the house provide an utterly enchanting outdoor environment. From a shimmering carpet of silvery and gold grasses rise bold sword-shaped leaves of natives and coastal plants. Many are unusual varieties of palms, flaxes and bromeliads sourced from gardening enthusiasts.

At the water's edge and covered at night, the 13m heated swimming pool is always several degrees warmer than pools further inland.

A heavenly place to replenish your soul, this coastal estate in the city is Auckland's best-kept secret.

Vital statistics

Address: 38B Rawene Ave, Coxs Bay.

Features: Designer home with sea views; easy access to water; big kitchen and family space; formal dining and lounge with open fire; sunroom; library; five bedrooms or four plus studio; three bathrooms; security and smoke alarms; air conditioning; double internal-access garaging; boatshed; permission for boat ramp received; 13m x 5m swimming pool; tennis court.

Size: Land area 3300 sq m; floor area 444 sq m.

Auction: On site on Saturday, March 2, 2002, unless sold prior.

Agent: Pene Milne and Deborah Kelland, Kelland's Real Estate. Ph 302 2209 bus; Pene 374 1961 ah; 021 919 940 mob; Deborah 0274 920 439 mob.

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