Devonport: Comings and goings

A waterside home imbued with Asian influences has been the base for a travelling family.

1 Second Avenue, Devonport.

Throughout their lives Rosemary and Ian McPherson have enjoyed living and working overseas, but they always make sure they have a home base in New Zealand.

As Rosemary explains, "It's always nice for the children to have a base, somewhere to come back to. Especially when you have six children."

A year after buying their waterfront home in Second Avenue in 1998 they left New Zealand to live for three years in Singapore, where Ian worked for a health insurance company.

It's a wonder they managed to leave behind such an idyllic spot, although Rosemary did plant a whole lot of palms before they left to give the garden a head start.

Prior to their time in Singapore, the family's other jaunts overseas included living in Thailand for 18 months and Pakistan for the same period.

That experience has obviously influenced the décor of the house and the look of the garden.

"I love that Asian-inspired stuff - the lush tropical plantings and the tranquillity and serenity," says Rosemary.

The home itself has a bit of a Mediterranean feel with its rough-plastered exterior and the predominance of tiled flooring downstairs. The large open plan kitchen and living area is the hub of the home and the doors that open out to the rear deck frame a tree-fringed view of the Harbour Bridge. A grapevine that has just come into fruit shades the tiled deck.

There are all sorts of nooks and crannies in this six-bedroom home that allow a large family to spread out.

"Even when you've got six kids there's lovely spaces for everyone to be in," Rosemary says.

One of the prime spots has to be the upstairs master bedroom, which has a deck with its own table and chairs from which you can sit back and admire the views over the Waitemata Harbour.

Walking out the back of the house, the gently sloping garden takes you down to the water. You pass through a Balinese archway that the McPhersons bought for the door it once held. They needed the door because the previous owners really loved their front door so they took it with them.

At the bottom of the garden, steps take you down to a beach with overhanging pohutukawa clinging to the clifftop. Rosemary says the beach is swimmable two hours either side of high tide.

"It's lovely to come down here for a swim especially if you have been working in the garden."

Rosemary says it's a fantastic neighbourhood to live in - the kids are always wandering over to each other's houses - and the regular ferry service to the city takes the hassle out of commuting.

But, as Rosemary explains, "Now that there are only two teenage boys at home, we thought it was time to downsize a bit.

"We're going to try apartment living in the city for a year or so, and then we'll probably move up to Whangaparaoa, back by the sea."

Vital Statistics

BEDROOMS: 6

BATHROOMS: 2

GARAGE: 2

SIZE: Land 918sq m (approx), house 376sq m.

PRICE: $2.5 million-plus. Auction December 7.

INSPECT: Sat/Sun 11am-noon, Thurs 7.15-8pm.

CONTACT: Prudence A. Foster, Bayleys, ph 489-0989, 0274 867 783.

FEATURES: Large, sunny modern Mediterranean-style villa on waterfront site. Upstairs master bedroom with own deck and harbour views. Back yard of lush tropical gardens with walkway down to beach. Internal access double garage. Gas central heating. Short walk to a ferry that provides a seven-minute ride to the city.