Big and beautiful

32 cliff road, torbay. Photo/Michelle Hyslop

32, CLIFF RD, TORBAY

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SIZE: Land 1239sq m, house 400sq m.

PRICE INDICATION: Interest is expected above $3.5 million. Tenders close November 21.

ON THE WEB: goodground.com #GGW11209

SCHOOL ZONES: Torbay Primary, Torbay Intermediate, Rangitoto College or Long Bay College.

CONTACT: Ming Gao or Martin Albrecht, goodGround Real Estate, Ming ph 021 377 553, or Martin 021 56 5682.

Bruce Freeman's belief in maximising potential has turned the site of a poky little bach into his best "think big" project with two significant "must-have" elements at its heart -- big rooms and a view into every single one of them.

That was the general drift of the conversation in 1991 when Bruce and his late wife, Anne, brought architect John D'Anvers on site to see whether the 1910/20s bach might be the workable basis for a family home or whether they needed to demolish it and start afresh.

John opted for a home that made the most of every aspect of the site, its views and its location with riparian rights which, says Bruce, is the highest clifftop residential site on the North Shore.

From the outset, he wanted big rooms, nothing little and insignificant, and he wanted every room to be worthy of that sea view.

The one exception in this U-shaped, double-storey home is hardly an insignificant room. It is the secure, ventilated, bespoke wine cellar. From beneath the rain head shower in the upstairs, street-side master en suite there's a sea view; from the adjacent toilet there is also a sea view.

The downstairs guest bedroom looks out across the pool and courtyard through the sliding glass doors into the lounge and out beyond the far picture window to the sea. The dining room that opens directly off the hallway is centred between the two slender clifftop pohutukawa that frame the unobstructed sea views.

From the curved granite kitchen island bench you can see up to Long Bay beach. Giving each area its own identity while maintaining a functional connection was the key aspect of the design that perplexed Bruce early on. It was achieved by designing what John D'Anvers calls "different wall planes", setting the dining area back a little and crafting a curved, eucalyptus fastigata timber archway into the formal lounge.

The kitchen has a plywood timber bulkhead ceiling with unobtrusive perimeter lighting.

True to the architect's tradition of designing a signature door style for each commission, he created a template with a lattice motif. It is in the panelled timber doors, the leadlight glass doors, and the style of the archway and the stainless steel balustrades of the stairs up to the master bedroom wing, second guest bedroom and second lounge.

From the bar in this lounge to the deep sheltered tiled veranda overlooking the lawn, this home has intrigued and delighted guests and family.

Bruce never expected to be house-hunting again when he bought this property, but the time has come for him to look for a smaller home better suited to his life now.