SCHOOL ZONES:
Coatesville Primary, Albany Junior and Senior colleges.
CONTACT:
Ailsa McArthur, Bayleys, 0272 984 000.
AUCTION:
May 5.
When Brian and Helen Armstrong bought their Coatesville property 36 years ago they were seeking a classic country lifestyle.
And they got that in spades as they developed a family home with a swimming pool and tennis court surrounded by paddocks. Brian kept cattle and their two daughters had ponies.
All the time Helen and Brian were creating a park-like setting around the house, which now has a birch-tree-lined driveway curving up to it.
From raw material they have landscaped the property so the home overlooks a pond and is framed by mature native and exotic trees and curving garden beds.
"It used to be rolling cow country," says Brian. "And there wasn't a tree on it when we bought it," adds Helen.
"In those days Wake Rd [which leads to Oak Lane] was a dirt road that used to flood," says Helen. "So I'd have to leave the car at the top of the road and carry two kids down."
Once they had bought the land from a farmer who was subdividing, the couple commissioned architect David Delamare to design "a country house".
Helen wanted a home with indoor/outdoor flow that sat easily on the land.
"I like David Delamare because he uses lots of timber and he knows his spaces," says Helen.
Timber is certainly prominent in the home, which is cedar-clad with Douglas fir beams inside and rimu-sarked ceilings. Strategically placed windows, including slots, clerestories and skylights, fill the home with light.
When the home was extended in two stages, the Armstrongs called on David Delamare to design those additions as well.
From the central kitchen/living area there is an easy flow to the north-facing outdoors area overlooking the pond.
The bricked patio wraps around the house and bedrooms and living spaces open out to it. Helen says the kitchen was enlarged and renovated about 15 years ago.
Image 1 of 8: Drive under the birch trees to a rural country-club idyll of tennis and swimming. Photos / Michelle Hyslop
It features mustard-coloured cabinetry, a woodburner and a corner window seat, which Helen says was a favourite spot for her daughters to curl up when they were young.
A sunken lounge with open fire looks out to the kidney-shaped swimming pool, which has a spa pool inset.
On the eastern side of the house are what were the children's bedrooms. The master bedroom is on one side of the upstairs landing and the en suite and walk-in wardrobe are on the other.
What was the garage has been converted into a rumpus room and then further to the west the couple added another room that Brian thought would make a good pool room but would equally serve as guest accommodation with its own bathroom, kitchenette and separate entrance. Dappled light comes into the room via a corner window seat.
Upstairs is an office that overlooks the driveway and has a balcony facing west.
And even further to the west, a covered walkway takes you to the garage, which has a tack room at the back and a large mezzanine storage space.
On the eastern side of the house sits the all-weather tennis court, which Brian had built a little larger so that he could practise his skills during his football days.
Now, he is more content to hit golf shots from one part of the property to another.
Since they moved here the couple have seen the area change immensely.
"The reason we put the swimming pool and tennis court in was because there weren't those facilities around here in those days and we wanted our girls to enjoy them and have their friends over," says Brian. "I bought out here on the understanding that Auckland wouldn't come over those hills in my lifetime -- and I got that massively wrong."
The Armstrongs are downsizing and aiming to move closer to their children and grandchildren on the North Shore.
"We've been rattling around here by ourselves for 10 years really but it never felt like the right time to leave," says Brian.
"Our daughters weren't that happy about us going but we had a function out here recently for all the family and hired a photographer so it was then they realised it was time for mum and dad to move on."
