Mission Bay: La dolce vita

No expense was spared in sourcing the fittings for this Italian mansion, most of which came from the country that inspired it.

27 Dudley Road, Mission Bay. It's the impulsive Italian blood pumping in Graham Ell's veins that convinced him to buy an extravagant mansion in Mission Bay almost three years ago.

Graham, whose grandmother came from Palermo, loved the style of the Dudley Road home, and the fact that it was built by an Italian who imported most of the materials from his homeland.

Another motivating factor could have been that Graham's childhood was spent in a "very modest home" while his father, Valentine, built fancy homes for his clients.

"He was a wonderful man, a very generous man, my father, but my mother was always at him to build us a decent house," Graham says.

Well, his late father would have been impressed with this two-storey concrete block home, which has a style that could only be described as opulent. From its stained glass front door bearing a picture of the goddess Medusa to its heated marble floors, no expense has been spared.

The marble floors stretch throughout the home and the bathrooms have marble-lined walls. There are tiles from the house out to the swimming pool and spa.

Even the internal access four-car garage at the rear of the house has a tiled floor. And there is not a blade of grass to mow on the entire property.

"I hate mowing lawns," says Graham, whose passion for racing fast cars might explain why he doesn't fancy spending his weekends plodding behind a smoky two-stroke.

Graham, who is a retired engineer, came across the mansion designed by architect John D'Anvers after deciding he wanted to move from his home on a bush section in Birkenhead Point.

The elevated north-facing home gets plenty of sun. It pours into the large formal living room at the front of the house. From there you move through to the open-plan kitchen and living area which, Graham says, is the heart of the house.

This area opens to a tiled courtyard - inlaid with mosaics - and the swimming pool, which is flanked not only by columns but large gas-fired torches. The whole area has subtle lighting and there is a small waterfall at the rear. Mature yuccas and palms surround the pool.

"You can open up all of this area and it's fantastic in summer time; you're swimming and eating and drinking," Graham says. "Sometimes you just fall down tired here and don't make it upstairs."

The kitchen features a granite-topped island bench, solid wood cabinetry and Gaggenau appliances. The double fridge-freezer has a blast freeze option, which for some months Graham wasn't aware was switched on though it did puzzle him why his vodka was always frozen solid.

The kitchen also has a keypad for the home automation system that controls lights, security and heating.

Away from the kitchen is a bathroom, a guest powder room beside the pool and a cedar-lined sauna. "All the wood in this house is either cedar or rimu."

The sweeping marble staircase with wrought iron handrail takes you from the grand gallery-style entrance lobby - with a Medusa mosaic inlaid in tiles - to an upstairs landing.

Graham points out that the handrails are all handmade, imported from Italy and assembled here. The security grille at the front door and the sliding security gates at either end of the semicircular drive have been made to match the wrought iron railings that are a feature inside and out.

The upstairs landing leads to the master bedroom which has a study off to one side with its own balcony, while the other side of the room opens to the main upstairs balcony which wraps around the northwestern corner of the house.

The master bedroom's ensuite is a vision in blue and white marble; the sort of bathroom where a Hollywood actress would look right at home.

Down the hallway from the master bedroom is another bathroom, more bedrooms, another study and what could be a games room or TV room.

Graham, who is a divorcee with six adult children, says he loves the house but realistically it is too much for him alone.

"This is a unique property, a one-off, and it's a lovely sunny spot here with views across the water. But the house is too big for one person and takes a lot to look after."

But don't think that Graham is going to be departing Mission Bay in a haze of tyre smoke from his Porsche. He loves the area.

"There's a great lifestyle here and the people here aren't ostentatious - they don't sit around with their pinkies sticking out while they're drinking their coffee."

Vital Statistics

SIZE: Land 809sq m, house 540sq m

PRICE INDICATOR: CV $2.36 million. Auction June 12.

INSPECT: Open homes Sat/Sun 12pm-12.30 pm or by appointment.

CONTACT: Megan Jaffe or Alex Baker, Harcourts Remuera; Megan ph 520 8103 bus or 021 611 461, Alex ph 520 8104 bus or 0274 579 805.

FEATURES: Four double bedrooms, open plan living area and kitchen downstairs, two living areas and two studies upstairs, separate laundry, inground heated saltwater pool, spa, sauna, security system with intercom, central vacuum system.