Katikati: A modern Victorian

A couple went to great lengths to build a modern home with turn of the century aesthetics, writes Estelle Sarney.

98 Tetley Road, Katikati.

Sweep up the curved driveway past the Phoenix palms, and the grand triple bay villa on the edge of the lake looks like it must have been one of the area's original homesteads.

But on closer inspection you'll find a few features that don't fit century-old houses. The living areas and the outdoors flow beautifully, the floors and walls are straight and true, the framing is tanalised timber, and the wiring, plumbing and insulation is modern-day. This house was, in fact, completed only three years ago - it was just built to look old.

The couple who realised this startling vision with their own hands over four years is Philip and Alice McNeil.

"We just loved the look and character of turn of the century villas," says Philip, a furniture restorer who translated his skills to building when the time came to provide a family home. "Neither of us grew up in villas, but we spent Christmases in them with our grandparents. Old houses are like chandeliers - they never date."

Philip and Alice bought their 4.6ha block 18 years ago when all it had on it was a kiwifruit orchard. They built a shed and made the inside house-like while their children, Stacey and Nathan, were little. After a couple of years they decided they weren't orchardists, so leased out that part of the property and returned to furniture restoration. As the children hit their teens, the time came to build a proper house.

"We bought an old villa up in Dargaville and used it to get a lot of our measurements and patterns for things like verandah posts and ceiling battens," says Philip. "Then we took all the doors, windows and the fireplace out of it to use in this place. We also looked at a house in Hawke's Bay, and one in Melbourne. This house is a mixture of all three."

Philip drew up the plans for his house using old imperial measurements, then had a draughting company put them into a form the council would accept.

"We got some rimu logs from a farmer near Rotorua - they'd been lying on the ground for about 100 years. We milled most of them on site here." To create an English setting, the couple created a miniature lake in front of the house. It covers about .8 of a hectare and is 2m deep.

"We've had little yachts on it, and jet skis. At Christmas our extended family camps around the lake," says Philip.

Fed by three natural springs, the lake is stocked with goldfish, visited by tui, ducks and blue herons, and is graced by two Royal swans. "We just thought they'd look so graceful on the lake in front of the house, and they do. They pretty much look after themselves."

The house is perfectly placed to make the most of the view. A family room is the heart of the home, and from here flows a formal lounge, which looks west over the lake, and the kitchen and dining area, which gazes east toward the sea and sunsets.

The couple say all the time, care and labour that went into realising their dream was worth it.

In fact, they enjoyed the experience so much they want to start all over again, on another block of land somewhere in the Bay of Plenty.

"I think any New Zealander could do this if they put their mind to it and had the determination," says Philip. "It's good fun."

Vital Statistics

SIZE: Land 4.6ha, house 213sq m, verandahs 65sq m, double garage with workshop, kitchen, toilet and laundry 132sq m, implement shed 21sq m.

PRICE INDICATION: $1.35 million + gst (if any).

INSPECT: Sunday 2-3pm.

CONTACT: Bruce Lindsay, First National, ph 07 578 8887 bus, 021 657 808 mob.

FEATURES: Family room and separate formal lounge with views east and west. Private lake with jetty and two Royal swans. Former shed home is now garage and workshop with kitchen, toilet and laundry still attached. 2ha of green kiwifruit producing an average of 13,300 trays over the past four years.