Hamilton: The French correction

An enterprising couple has taken a rundown home and given it a makeover with a French accent, writes Fritha Tagg.

330F Pencarrow Road, Hamilton. The entrance to this 5ha lifestyle property gives a hint of the delights to come.

Located between Hamilton and Cambridge off Pencarrow Road, you turn down a private lane to reach the driveway. Sweep up an avenue of Chinaberry trees and you arrive at a border of beautiful old cherry trees. They surround a newly renovated and extended French country style house.

When Sheryl and Gordon Goulin-Irvine purchased this property two years ago they saw its potential. It was rundown and the house was crying out for enlargement and improvement, while the land also needed some love and attention.

Before they had even signed an agreement to buy, Sheryl had drawn up a proposed floor plan to almost double the size of the house.

She is an interior decorator and the French country look is her present specialty.

The house is pristine with a seamless flow from one area to another. Sheryl and Gordon added another two-storey wing to the house that gave it balance, a large master bedroom and bathroom upstairs and the kitchen and family room below.

The couple enjoys entertaining and Sheryl says the kitchen/family room is often the focal point for friends to gather.

Along with the major extension they also renovated and rebuilt much of the original house, enlarging and making better use of the floor space available.

They admit living in the house while the renovations and expansion took place was a nightmare and have vowed not to do that again.

Accumulating and shopping play a big part in Sheryl's interior decorating skills. She doesn't go looking for specifics but often comes across items and knows where they will fit. Part-way through a diploma in interior design, Sheryl is keen for another blank canvas, so the couple is searching for the next project.

The outside of this house has been landscaped to match the interior look, with a large in-ground pool with separate spa pool and an outdoor paved entertaining area with a built-in fireplace. With the indoor-outdoor flow from the family area and large kitchen, friends and good food and drink are the only other necessary ingredients.

There is a tropical garden near the pool area, a vegetable pottager garden, and a white garden with 44 different white roses bordered with box hedging and a mirror pond.

Covered walkways surround the home, linking the large double garage and leading to a small adjoining cottage, which is also decorated in French country style. The cottage has its own garden and double garage. In front of the cottage is an orchard, and pergola walkways are planted with grapevines in keeping with the theme.

The paddocks surrounding the house are perfect for Sheryl and Gordon's Highland cattle.

Vital Statistics

SIZE: Land 5.089 ha, house 350sq m, cottage 69sq m.

PRICE: $1.5 million-plus.

CONTACT: Angela Davies, Bayleys, ph 021 623 550.

FEATURES: Immaculately renovated family home with separate self-contained cottage. Family room opens onto well-appointed kitchen and to outdoor entertaining area; there is also a formal lounge. Inground pool, spa. Landscaped gardens open onto post and rail paddocks with well established trees. Rear boundary borders the Waikato River. Located between Hamilton and Cambridge.