SCHOOL ZONES:
Snells Beach and Warkworth primaries. Mahurangi College.
CONTACT:
Dahnie Burton, 021 628 327, or Peter Marsh, 021 772 477, Bayleys.
AUCTION:
March 15.
Wanting to build a holiday house that might become a permanent home, Christine and Murray Savidan finally found a site on the Mahurangi Harbour.
The Auckland couple had been searching for something about an hour's drive out of the city. Back in 1999, Murray confesses, he didn't know where Scotts Landing was but when they saw the section they loved its outlook and peacefulness.
After winning the tender for the 3700sq m site, they began looking for an architect and settled on Guy Tarrant, who was keen enough to drive up and look at the setting. Christine said it was important to them that the home was sympathetic to its environment.
"We wanted it to be unobtrusive in the way it sat on the land and flowed with the land," she says. "Guy just got it totally and we are so happy with the dimensions of the house." So was the NZIA, which gave the home a local award in 2006.
Murray says Guy positioned the house for maximum exposure to the sun and to open up the views on a site that slopes gently down to the foreshore.
Deep eaves keep out the summer sun but allow the winter sun to penetrate and warm the charcoal-coloured concrete floors, which are also heated.
Murray estimates the eaves are about 2m deep and says they were "an engineering feat in themselves". Slender supports and glazing give the impression the large roof is floating. The plastered concrete block and cedar home was finished in 2002, and the Savidans moved there permanently in 2006.
Designed in an L-shape, the split-level home has a mono-pitch roof with the main living area (warmed by an open fire), master bedroom, bathroom and laundry in a wing running parallel to the waterfront while the guest wing with two bedrooms, a bathroom and office heads off at right angles and steps up the sloping section.
Bedrooms are separated from the living space by a covered entry that steps down towards the water. The guest bedrooms step back as they rise up the slope to allow views of the water.
This configuration creates a sheltered courtyard on the western side of the house, while on the eastern side there is a deck that faces the water.
When the stacking sliders either side of the open-plan living space are pushed right back, there is a seamless flow from the outdoors through the indoors and back outdoors again.
This provided a perfect setting when the Savidans' daughter was married on the property.
"We opened up the whole place and had 90 seated guests here," says Christine.
15 Young St, Scotts Landing. Photo / Ted Baghurst
Even when the sliders are closed, the glazed living space allows those sitting in the courtyard to have views of the water through the house.
Murray designed and landscaped the courtyard garden to give it a Balinese feel. An open fire means the outdoor space can be used year-round.
A viewing platform closer to the water was built for the wedding. "Now it makes the perfect spot for a 5 o'clock G&T," says Christine.
Closer to the road are an orchard and a double garage. A studio has been built in the grounds. Murray, a photographer and film-maker, uses it for his work but it could also be extra accommodation.
The Savidans have enjoyed easy water access, swimming and kayaking from their property. Murray also has a runabout that is ideal for the sheltered harbour.
"We are on a finger of land stretching out into the harbour overlooking Te Kapa inlet so there is always a sheltered spot either side that you can go to," says Murray.
But with grandchildren back in Auckland, the Savidans are returning to the big smoke to be nearer to them.
