Titirangi's strong sense of community is a key reason why Chris and John Cook have remained 38 years in the timeless home they built for their family in the 1970s.
The Cooks' children, Joanna, Michael and Naomi, were aged 5, 3 and 1 when they moved into the two-level Park Rd home that architect Malcolm Brown designed for them with a growing family in mind.
Chris and John had bought the sloping 1404sq m section, which is about 200m from Titirangi village, in the 1960s from an elderly neighbour who had given much of his land to the church.
After moving to Australia for John's work as a geologist, the family returned to Auckland and settled into their new home in 1977.
Built on concrete block foundations with cedar board and batten cladding, the house sits on a level platform that nestles into mature native bush at the end of its gently sloping driveway. Its position well back from Park Rd means the house is quiet and it also enjoys restful sea views over the canopies of the property's beautiful native trees to the Manukau Harbour.
Titirangi's famed Lopdell House is just a few minutes' walk up the road and a public walking track close to the Cooks' house leads through the bush to Titirangi Beach.
The couple wanted a comfortable, informal, open plan family home with natural timbers. These include polished rimu flooring and oversized, exposed cedar beams from Oregon that support the high, sloping ceilings upstairs.
As Chris, a dietitian, was to be at home with three young children, she also wanted a layout that would allow her to supervise them easily.
With this in mind, the upstairs kitchen was designed with a balustrade-style, half-height wall at one end. From here you look down to a playroom on the ground level which has three children's bedrooms opening off it.
Image 1 of 6: Everything about this home has been crafted with both grown-ups and little ones in mind. Photos / Ted Baghurst
Another forward-thinking aspect of the home's design was to do away with a separate dining room.
"That was atypical at the time and our friends thought it was a bit strange."
The design of the south-facing home also makes the most of the sun with strategically placed skylights, picture windows and a double height entrance hallway on the ground level that is overlooked by the main upstairs living room.
The home has been so well designed, built and maintained that Chris and John have made only minor modifications to it in the nearly four decades they have been here.
About 20 years ago, the original carport was replaced by a double garage, store room and large, upstairs office that connects to the main house by opening off the main living room.
Both bathrooms have also been renovated -- most recently the en suite, which was redone four years ago.
Eight years ago, considerable thought and energy was put into landscaping the property, which now includes walkways that lead into the bush off a sunny, ground level deck at the front of the house.
The bush surrounding the walkways, where the Cooks' four grandchildren love to play, has also been underplanted with perennials and shade loving shrubs including azaleas, rhododendrons and clivias.
Downstairs in the house are the main bathroom and all five bedrooms including the master bedroom with en suite and a large guest room with its own deck.
Open plan, light-filled living upstairs includes the kitchen, a TV room, informal dining, a large lounge and the office which is large enough to be a games room.
Christine has thoroughly enjoyed her years of being part of Titirangi's friendly and diverse family community, but she and John have bought an apartment as they no longer need such a large house.
