Remuera: Masonry maestro

This just-completed Remuera home assures a care-free lifestyle of indulgence in a sophisticated setting. By VICKI HOLDER.

Answering the call for the highest quality in every respect, not a detail has been forgotten for the family desiring clean-lined luxury at this privileged Remuera address.

Built by the neighbour, Mark McConnel, who enjoys the same standard of living from a complementary design next door, both homes come off the drawing board of B Milic.

This home sits on its compact site, secure behind a 1.8m tall, solid rock wall, in a leafy street just along from the Upland Rd shops. The owners glide through electronic gates to park on the lower level where a turning carousel in the three-car garage makes the job of backing out easy. Visitors must press the buzzer at the pedestrian gate to capture the owners' attention on either of two video monitors inside.

A tongue of polished honey-toned travertine marble entices towards the towering metallic entry door and continues through the foyer into the living areas and out into the garden beyond. The same travertine engenders warmth in the five bathrooms of the house. Flowing from the heated floors and up the walls to ceiling height, travertine also features on several of the vanities. Such continuity reinforces the sense of quality throughout, as well as linking interiors and exteriors.

Thin reflection ponds on either side of the path are designed to make you feel as if you are floating above the water as you step inside.

A dramatic double-height foyer filled with light welcomes guests. The light pours into the open-plan living area with its tall ceiling height. With heated floors and a raised gas fire, it always feels cosy in this generous area that combines both kitchen and sitting area around a central dining space.

The kitchen, fitted with many innovative, space-defying storage solutions, is handsome in dark wenge timber cabinetry with luscious antique brown marble benchtops. It's enhanced by a spacious butler's kitchen where an extra fridge is included under the bench for beverages, ideal for those who like to entertain a lot. The appliances are top-of-the-range Miele and Gaggenau brands. A Liebherr fridge-freezer is ample for most household needs and a Miele coffee maker is inset in the wall, which saves taking up bench space with a free-standing model.

If the parents are entertaining downstairs, the children can escape to watch television or play in another family area upstairs on the same level as three of the bedrooms. This entertainment room is wired ready for home theatre, and opens to a balcony overlooking the garden. Another two bedrooms add versatility on the ground floor level. One opens through glass sliders to the front entry path, giving the option of a home office.

The master bedroom features a fitted dressing room as well as a lavish en suite with a spa pool where two people can bathe in luxury. In winter, a fireplace is a tempting drawcard to come to bed early and in summer the doors open to a deck that looks out over the Remuera valley.

In the garden, a colonnaded arbour provides shelter beneath electronic aluminium louvres. At the touch of a button, these can be opened on an angle. The arbour projects perpendicular to the house, ending in a heated pool surrounded by lush lawns and mature subtropical palms.

There is masses of space beneath the house. As well as the garage and laundry, a wine cellar awaits. There is also a large windowless room suitable as a home theatre, billiard room or maybe a gym. That's about the only decision the current owner has left to his incumbent, for everything else in this home is installed and ready to go, to make moving in a breeze.