Muriwai: Tuscan luxury

A host of European touches, a helipad, a go-kart track and an eel in the creek are all part of the package at this extravagant Muriwai home.

"I've always liked Italian or French provincial style. Because the proportions [of the house] are so big, it became quite Italian."

It takes about 25 minutes on a good day to drive to central Auckland from the Hertzke family's huge, two-storey, Tuscan-style home in Waimauku - or a few minutes by helicopter.

A helipad with GPS co-ordinates and night-time landing capabilities, in front of five-car garaging, gives an alternative travel option.

The driveway curves across a stream where a friendly eel lives. "He's huge," says the property's owner, Mathias Hertzke. "He has a body diameter more like an adult's leg."

Statues of two lions lie on either side of the bridge. "They're not too formal - they look as though they are sleeping lions, out of a children's fairytale book," says Monique Hertzke, who did the interior design between caring for her eight children. "Interior design is a hobby of mine, and I really enjoy it," she says.

The driveway sweeps past a hammock - occupied by two teenagers when we walked past - and up to the imposing front door.

Inside are all sorts of details found only in houses designed by people who have built before, and who know what they want.

"I've always liked Italian or French provincial style. Because the proportions are so big, it became quite Italian," says Monique.

The grand entrance floor is painted to look like marble. Two storeys above, on the entrance ceiling, is a copy of a Michelangelo fresco, hand-painted by Artifications to look like a dome.

The big chandelier in the entrance is from a chateau in France, as is the ironwork outside the front door. The dining room is painted to look as though the walls are centuries old, and peeling.

The floors downstairs are concrete inlaid with jarrah. Cabinets made out of French doors are another sign of the creativity that has gone into this home.

Upstairs, the bed in the main bedroom rests on a dais (low platform), and the en suite has its own fireplace and French bathtub.

"It is quite open plan, but the kids like it like that," says Monique. "If they want peace and quiet, they can go to their rooms. They all have their own room."

"It is quite open plan, but the kids like it like that. If they want peace and quiet, they can go to their rooms. They all have their own room."

There are other, more practical details, like the shoe cupboard by the door, which is for shoes and bags that would otherwise be dumped in the entrance hall.

Other features include laundry chutes, two dishwashers and nine bedrooms. A semi-self-contained flat for Monique's mother has its own kitchenette.

The main kitchen has a walk-in pantry with granite benches, a butler's sink and a Paul Bocuse oven with a gas hob and two ovens.

There are five bathrooms, a library, three fireplaces - including one outside - and four separate sound systems.

"One is for background music. It has a PA system with it. Then there's the cinema room. We have built-in surround sound in the bedroom, too. And there's a fourth system that lets you run hi-fi with two speakers for the really good stuff," says Mathias.

The house is constructed from tilt-slab concrete and has an Italian-style, terracotta-tiled roof and aluminium joinery.

"It's all high tensile concrete," says Mathias. "It's very, very strong, almost bomb-proof. It's much stronger than the average driveway. Sandwiched between the layers is fireproof polystyrene to provide insulation. It's like a chillybin. It stores energy very well."

The house is protected by surveillance cameras that can be accessed by computer and viewed on the internet while the family is away. It's also wired for computers.

The entertaining areas open to a courtyard with a salt-water swimming pool, fountain, pergola, petanque pad and cafe-style conservatory with roll-up sides for summer dining. Over the fence is a small orchard planted with fruit, citrus and nut trees.

The four paddocks have post-and-rail fencing, and a half-round barn provides storage.

"Best of all is the go-kart race track," says Mathias. "It's complete with ripple strips, hair pins and sweepers, and a 30-seat grandstand."