As Grant recalls, "I said to the builder, 'Build it as if you were building your own house. We don't want to scrimp on anything'."
Materials such as schist and bluestone feature in the exterior of the home, which is otherwise plaster over brick. Inside, American oak floors and cabinetry are prominent throughout as is granite and marble in the kitchen and bathrooms.
Views of the upper harbour can be appreciated from just about every room of this two-storey home, facing north over the water.
Symmetry is also a vital component of the design, with the front and back of the house mirroring. Formal gardens - particularly the clipped hedges and shrubs around the circular driveway at the front of the home - reinforce this symmetry. There is also a recurring keystone motif around the home.
Inside, a double-height space welcomes you with the only interruption a towering, free-standing chimney that separates the foyer and living room. A large Jetmaster fire warms this space, and off to one side is a more casual family room and a spacious country-style kitchen. Off to the other side of the main living room is a games room (with kitchenette) that has glass doors into a garage.
Outdoor living is also well catered for with covered areas on both levels on the eastern and western sides. Outside the kitchen - on the eastern side - there is a schist and bluestone outdoor fireplace. On the waterfront side of the house are paved patio areas with pergolas that flow out to the lawn.
The master bedroom - up concrete stairs - opens to a covered deck with views across the water to Coatesville and Paremoremo.
The bedrooms on the other side of the house also have access to a covered deck.
Built in a similar style to the house, the nearby barn has stables, a tack room, laundry, bathroom, kitchenette and three bays with doors on either side so vehicles can be driven straight through.
"The plan was to have a boat in here and drive straight out here down the back and to the water's edge," says Grant.
Going out the back of the barn takes you down the side of the property to a paved driveway leading down to a boat ramp and jetty, which have power and water.
With his wife having passed away two years ago and his two daughters nearing the age when they will leave home, Grant knows the property will one day be more than he needs.
"It will be quite emotional selling it," he says, "but it's just one of those things where you move on to the next chapter in life."
