All bedrooms lead off the entrance hallway, which carries on to the main living area. (There is also a bathroom and toilet off to the right from the hallway.)
Originally, the kitchen and laundry had been separate rooms to the side of the living and dining area but it's now all one open space.
"In our years here we have gone from minimalist and then French to now infusing colour and being more eclectic," says Peter. "It's just the way of design."
The kitchen centres around a distinctive marble-topped island, with cabinets used to hide away the TV when not in use. Further cabinets conceal fridge and laundry.
Interior walls are painted in Resene Black Haze, chosen as a neutral backdrop for Peter and Graham's artworks and objets d'art. "White gives us the option to have the gallery to hang our art," Peter says. "We are big fans of colour but we can also change the feeling and change the colours by changing our artworks around."
The plan was to paint the exterior walls in Black Haze, too, but it didn't look right so they instead used Resene Double Sea Fog. "We did it to play a trick on the eye," explains Peter. "Because of the way sun strikes the house and also the reflective surfaces from other houses, Black Haze didn't look right. By using the Sea Fog, it actually looks the same as inside."
A raft of glass doors slide open between the living space, the deck and lap pool, surrounded by pittosporums, Canton Lace, cabbage trees and cycads. In summer, ivy provides a colourful display along the back fence. This area is where Peter and Graham entertain friends as they open the house up for barbecues and parties.
The couple are selling because they spend a lot of time overseas.
"We turned our house into our Bali dream and then decided to try to live out the real dream," says Graham. "We have been living in Bali one month out of every three."
But, for the purpose of selling, they have moved back in ... to move out, enjoying a little bit more time in their Ponsonby retreat. "We are doing the Bali thing and have sold the shop and we think it's time for a new challenge," says Graham.
They imagine their home will appeal to a broad cross section. It has been rented out to a couple with grown-up children and a younger family. Graham says: "All the hard work has been done and there's not too much maintenance. It's secluded, private, yet close to everything."
