French connection in Kaukapakapa

1183 Kaipara Coast Highway, Kaukapakapa, Auckland. Photo / Ted Baghurst

1183 KAIPARA COAST HIGHWAY KAUKAPAKAPA

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SIZE: Land 1.3ha, house 243sq m plus 168sq m barn.

PRICE INDICATION: CV $1.25 million. Auction November 1.

INSPECT: Sat/Sun 1-2pm

ON THE WEB: premium.co.nz/ABN22093

SCHOOL ZONES: Kaukapakapa Primary, Kaipara College. Buses at gate to North Shore schools.

CONTACT: Logan Gilbert, Premium, ph 021 242 7241

FEATURES: French country farmhouse-styled dwelling offers flexible living options, with patio built around an in-ground pool. Attached accommodation above and beside the three-car garage means that the total package has three living rooms and an office and gym.

Dirk and Ginny Catterall bought into and built on what an advertisement described as 'the prettiest block you'll ever see".

"It was, too," Ginny says. "We hadn't been intending to move, our house wasn't even on the market. And yet we went for a Sunday drive to view it and found ourselves signing for it two days later. We completely fell in love."

What they fell in love with was nothing but a bare block of land, although well oriented towards the sun, with rolling contours and close to Kaukapakapa village. Today, seven years later, it's hard to imagine it as a "bare block", so well established are the grounds and the French country-styled house.

Keith Youngman's design for Dirk, Ginny and their three daughters is an impressive amalgam of traditional form and detail, with contemporary practicalities.

First impressions are of light-filled rooms with cathedral ceilings sarked in macrocarpa. It is not until second impressions are made that you see that the macrocarpa details are carried through in exposed beams above the doors and the bare wood doors are of a type commonly found in old farm buildings and called "ledge, brace and batten".

A schist fireplace in the formal living room gives impact to that end of the house, while the angular layout breaks with the norm.

What has slightly the look of a French pigeon loft from the outside turns out to be the mezzanine area housing Ginny and Dirk's luxurious bedroom. Downstairs, the centrally located kitchen anchors the two ends of the home. With doors opening to the pool and entertainment area, a huge black granite breakfast bar and more of those exposed timber details, it feels both domestic and glamorous. Off to the northerly end, a huge sliding door leads to the informal living area with a six-zone audio-visual system and a large wood burner.

Beyond lies the "girls' wing", with a bedroom for each and a large bathroom. All the bedrooms are good-sized doubles with views of the countryside, lots of storage and French-door access to the gardens. Accessed by a wide, covered walkway that runs the length of the entertaining area is the "barn", where all the family lived for more than a year while the house was being built. Today it is a comfortable one-bedroom apartment which the girls use for sleepovers, and there's a gym and office area.

The family is moving back to town. "We love this but we'll only have the girls for a few more years and we want to make those years work for them," is how Ginny puts it. "When they've all left home, we'll probably build something similar again."