Kumeu: Room for the horses, too

Opportunity beckons at this Kumeu property designed for horse lovers. By VICKI HOLDER

Driving through the lichen-fringed gates into this large lifestyle property in Kumeu, you feel like you've wandered into a miniature country village. Hedge-lined driveways meander off in all directions to an assortment of beautiful, rustic buildings, all a substantial size.

Not only does it accommodate the owners in a stunning, architecturally designed brick and cedar home furthest from the gate, but someone also lives comfortably in an apartment above the garage. Turned away from the road, with three large bays facing into the sun, a handsome yet weathered-looking stables and barn complex is so comfortable that it could be mistaken for another home. The owners once contemplated living here for a while. And the horses seem happy with their piped music and heated cover room.

A two-bedroom cottage in the same materials as the main house is home and studio to an artist mother-in-law. Then there's the busy plumbing business, with offices and warehousing just inside the gate. If you explore a little further towards the paddocks you'll find good-looking implement sheds. It would be difficult to become lonely in a property with so much going on.

When Debbie and Andrew Williams first came here, horses were their top priority, so they built a double garage and lived in the one-bedroom apartment above while they constructed the stables on the site of the original home. Four years was ample time to collect their thoughts about the kind of home they would create to take advantage of the grand rural outlook, facing north over level lawn and paddocks. Inspiration was found close to home in a neighbouring property by a designer from Te Awamutu, Rob Masek.

They asked Rob for an entertainer's home; somewhere they could party with large, open spaces and sunny outdoor terraces. "But it had to be a home where cats and dogs could run around. We don't like places where you have to take your shoes off," says Debbie.

Solid, durable surfaces give the home a strong, masculine feel. Concrete floors take the knocks in the living areas. Even though there are log fireplaces at both ends in the lounge, dining and sitting areas, the concrete could be cold if it were not for the underfloor heating that keeps things cosy.

The kitchen takes pride of place between the living areas. Debbie, who loves cooking, says she didn't want people congregating in her kitchen, but she wanted to be able to stand and chat to guests. Kitchens By Design solved the dilemma with big, spotted terrazzo benchtops fronting onto both sides of the living areas.

Rough-sawn pine cabinetry, stained grey and lacquered, provides an easy-care finish that doesn't need constant wiping. Drawers below the bench are plentiful, and there's loads of open shelving in a butler's pantry behind. Storage in wire baskets below a desk area provides places to hide household bills and clutter that accumulates around a kitchen.

In warm weather, the doors from the living area virtually disappear as the space opens out to sheltered decks detailed with copper lighting for use at night. A soaring, pitched macrocarpa roof makes a dramatic dining area, which looks out to the garden.

Timber is used extensively in the home with rimu architraves and heavy kwila doors featuring in the bedrooms, office and a wine cellar behind the living area. Two guest bedrooms are at one end with a guest bathroom and the master suite is on its own at the other end of the hallway.

Moody, dark-tiled bathrooms feature striking Kohler fittings and water vessels sit on simple, solid, cantilevered kwila benchtops. The master en suite and a large dressing room merge with a separate toilet between them.

Provision for a door for direct access to the apartment was made in the hallway leading to a large, country-style laundry and wet room. It would be easy for a family to incorporate this upstairs area into the rest of the home.

While the garden is only young, it is dotted with beautiful mature trees. Lined in alders, the front lawn features an English-style sunken area with edges that will soon be disguised by box hedging. A petanque court on the lower lawn provides fun for guests. There are 11 horse paddocks surrounding the built-up area and a full, international rubber chip horse arena with irrigation and a mirror is near the house. Just a few minutes from Kumeu, this bigger-than-the-usual lifestyle property provides extraordinary possibilities.

Vital Statistics

ADDRESS: 670 Waitakere Rd, Kumeu.

FEATURES: Landscaped property with several dwellings and office/workshop with three phone lines (vendor will lease back if suitable), storage and garaging; two-bedroom cottage with studio; main house one and a half years old with three bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms, large living areas opening to covered terraces, underfloor heating, wine cellar, double garage, security lighting, two phone lines (one for the business), central vacuum system, petanque court and irrigated grounds; apartment above garage; stables with three bays, barn, tack room, storage; pump house; dressage arena; cattle yards; three entrances, one with automatic gates; bio-cycle waste water treatment; extensive landscaping.

SIZE: Land area 4925sq m, main house floor area 500sq m with apartment 90sq m.

AUCTION: October 18, on site.

AGENT: Simon Spiller, Harcourts, Kumeu. Ph 412 7666 bus; 021 968 068 mob.