Helen Littlejohn singles out the feature concrete wall in their living room as anchoring the whole of her home to the land it sits on near Mangawhai.
"It is fabulous, really rough, almost a cowshed look with a wooden pattern.
"Because the concrete was so heavy, it could only be poured in lifts of a metre at a time and so you get different textures with each lift."
Helen and Ken Littlejohn had bought their 1.68ha section in 2007 in the Tara Crest development, which includes a share with the other owners in a 5ha native bush block with walking tracks.
The Littlejohns were selling an orchard in the area, and at an open day for the subdivision they met architect David Wingate who had drawn plans for another property.
"We had a good rapport," says Helen.
"He had designed a house with a lot of glass and a flat roof, which is quite popular around Mangawhai. But I had always wanted a pitched roof with eaves. We asked him to design a comfortable family house that would suit the land and complement the surrounds.
"We wanted wide corridors, a study and we also wanted three garages." Another request was for the house to be single level with easy access.
"I have a brother in a wheelchair so I wanted a house to be subtly wheelchair friendly when he comes up, so it is a home he can wheel around and feel normal in."
The couple liked how the Tara Crest section had a pond and native bush around the boundaries of the land.
"So you just needed to put a house on it, it lay very nicely to the north and looked out to the native bush."
Their stunning home is mapped into three pavilions.
Two of the wings have the garaging, bathrooms, laundry and four bedrooms; the master and another bedroom have a private deck. Throughout the house are high ceilings. The doors are full height and corridors 1.5m wide. Large windows look out to the bush.
Image 1 of 6: A pitched roof with eaves and large corridors give this entertainer space and light, writes Donna McIntyre
Between each pavilion is a 3m gap where the Littlejohns have developed a garden.
The first two pavilions have gibbed walls and high flat ceilings but the build for the third pavilion was more complicated, including the feature concrete wall and high-pitched roof. At the top of the vaulted ceiling are auto closing floodlight windows with rain sensors. The couple generally leave these windows open.
"They certainly keep an even temperature through the house," says Helen. This pavilion is home predominantly to the living areas as well as a study and a television room/library.
The open plan living area, with beautiful Tasmanian oak flooring and gas fireplace, has the kitchen (with butler's pantry), dining and living room, which open out through stacking sliding doors to two covered eating areas.
Helen has noticed how the design of the house makes people, especially tall men, feel at ease.
"There is that feeling of space and room for everyone, and it is good for entertaining.
"It just feels structurally a strong building. Everything in it was above normal spec and the piles went down an extra metre and the aluminium joinery is heavy duty.
"It sits well on the land and that attention to detail is noticeable. You look down to the pond and beyond to the native bush and Brynderwyn Hills in the background."
But the couple are now selling.
They have enjoyed the community, becoming involved in Rotary, golf, walking groups and mahjong, and Ken co-ordinates a health shuttle, which takes people to Whangarei.
"We are selling because it is time for a lifestyle change," says Helen. "If we live closer to Auckland we can be an hour from our friends up here and an hour from our family in Auckland. It is a fabulous community, very friendly and caring."
