Redbrook: A Country Italian

A developer likes the estate he's created on former farmland so much that he's building a second home there. By Graham Hepburn. 

30 Redbrook Drive, Redbrook Country Estate, Gordonton. The only regret that Brent McConnell has about shifting homes is that he can't take the floor with him. 

When he and wife Juanita built their Tuscan-style home just over a year ago on the 17-lot Redbrook Country Estate, which they have also developed, they put down matai timber in the main living area. The floorboards had been recycled from Rotokauri School. 

The McConnells worked with architect Alistair Kitchen to produce a classic Italian design. 

"We wanted something that as it aged it looked better and better," says Brent. 

Coming through the gateway, there is a sealed circular driveway that the two-storey solid plaster home partially wraps around. It's a very formal look with glazing kept to a minimum by modern standards. 

"The idea with the house is that all the living and the sun is on the other side, so the side you see from the road gives you privacy but also looks good," says Brent. 

Stepping through the double front doors you are greeted by the centrepiece of the home - a 6m-high freestanding schist fireplace with a double-sided fire that sits in a two-storey void. On the other side of the fireplace is the formal living room. 

The kitchen, which has Fisher & Paykel Iridium appliances and stone benches, flows through to the family living and dining areas and out to a covered barbecue area. As well as the internal double garage you see as you drive up to the house, there is another internal single garage out the back for machinery or boats. 

There is also one bedroom downstairs which Brent has been using as an office. 

Upstairs there are five more bedrooms and two bathrooms linked by a bridge past the fireplace. The master bedroom has been appointed with luxury in mind it has a walk-in wardrobe with an entrance either end and an en suite that boasts a spa bath, a double shower and double vanities. 

The earthy colours used throughout the home tie in with the surrounding bush and pasture. And the landscaping plan has allowed space for a swimming pool and/or a tennis court. 

But Brent is just as proud of the setting that he and Juanita have created at Redbrook as he is of their home. 

The development is 10 minutes drive north of Hamilton, next to Hukanui Golf Course, on what was a farm. The McConnells have used the contours of the land and the existing mix of bush and pasture to help create the lots. 

"We've put in some ponds and 18,000 native landscape trees to segregate the lots, and we've also made sure that no neighbour backs on to another," says Brent. 

They've also planted plane trees to create an avenue effect as you enter the estate. 

Residents have views of the Hakarimata ranges, Taupiri Mountain and Mount Pirongia across the undulating rural landscape. 

Brent and Juanita and their two pre-schoolers Ella and Paris may be shifting homes but they are not leaving the estate. They are building a new home on another one of the 2500sq m lots. 

"We always intended building on that final site," says Brent. "The new house will be a similar concept to this one - a little bit larger and with a bit of stone work. 

"I think the fact that I'm the developer and I'm living here shows that this estate is a quality development."