Somehow, even though Nicole and Michael Sage's children have all left home, Nicole still has a menagerie to care for — three horses and two dogs.
"I used to ride, but then Amy got interested when she was little so that's taken over now; it was a lot of time," she says, of her daughter, 19, who last year was the national top rider in dressage, and is now based in Taranaki with her trainer.
"There are no kids at home, and they are not doing the horses, so I can hop on for the occasional ride again. But we're rattling around, this house was for a family and entertaining."
The boys, David, 23 and Richard, 21, are both studying engineering in Canterbury, so there's a lot of parent time on the road. Time, then, to move on from the property the couple have lovingly developed over the past 25 years.
The Sages had bought the land when it was divided off the famous Ayrlies Gardens, developed by Bev McConnell and her late husband Malcolm in 1993. The former dairy farm on the exclusive Clifton peninsula had a watercourse and mature oaks, liquid amber and other deciduous trees, which the family called "the forest".
For a few years, Nicole and Michael travelled out from their townhouse in Westmere with two small boys to clear growth, put in windbreak hedges, place paths and figure out the best spot for their new house.
Planning didn't happen until 1997 and the family moved in a year later, just after Amy was born.
The couple settled on the house in the middle of the property, leaving room for a tennis court beside the road, a pool and pool house adjoining the house and, later, a stables and dressage arena for Amy.
Michael and the children were all keen hockey players, so the tennis court is marked out with a D and goals for winter, converting to a cricket pitch for summer bowling practice.
The couple wanted a solid house, commissioning a masonry build from their architect Kevin Sanderson (smart, in hindsight, says Nicole as many other buildings at the time were of the less-than-sound plaster).
They wanted a classical style that wouldn't date, fulfilling their idea of a gracious country home, so were pleased with Sanderson's contemporary interpretation of the Arts and Crafts style, with gabled roof and covered patio at the back.
Original tiled floors in the entry and bamboo floors through the reception rooms have lasted the years well, but the couple updated the kitchen and bathrooms five years ago, refreshing the rest of the house with new paint and carpets.
The house was designed for a crowd. Right from the entry, Nicole wanted a generous circulation area, with a wide stairwell and windows to flood the area in light. Michael, who is both a keen sportsman and a keen cook, designed the island bench to be the heart of the kitchen.
There are often crowds of 40 or 50 milling around the space, spilling out to the covered entertaining area, the formal dining room and living room with its fireplace for cosy winters.
The covered porch looks out to the gardens designed by award-winning designer Trudy Crerar to make the most of the original planting and frame views of the sea, Rangitoto and the city, as well as look pretty from above when viewed from the upstairs bedrooms.
The Morgan Pools pool had to be both functional — a heated 25m laned pool for Michael's training — and sociable for the kids and their friends.
There's a covered pergola for dining, a cute pool house with kitchenette and bathroom, plenty of paved areas for lounging and feature beds around the palm trees that Michael planted before the house was built.
The house was zoned for public spaces downstairs, plus a guest suite and an office. Upstairs is the family's private domain, with four generous bedrooms. The architect included generous bonus spaces: a huge walk-in closet for the master bedroom, a delightful book-lined library and, above the garage, a loft space.
"It is so gorgeous, up there, everyone loves it," says Nicole. "Rather than storage or a bedroom, we just opened the whole thing up, then there's a dear little room at the end with a view, that I use for my sewing room."
There's even more storage between the three-car garage and the enormous horse float garage, a home for all the kayaks, bikes, ride on mower.
The stables, built 12 years ago off the circular driveway behind the house, have three stables with outdoor yards for each box, tack, feed and wash rooms and a 60m by 20m dressage arena for working the horses.
The area is famed for its bridle trails, which loop off the main road and along the waterfront, yet is only minutes from Pine Harbour and the ferry to town, 15 minutes to Botany town centre or 25 minutes to the airport.
"This is an amazing position," says Nicole. "it's family-friendly, people love coming out here."
