Grace land in Remuera

7 Darwin Lane, Remuera, Auckland. Photo / Ted Baghurst

7 DARWIN LN REMUERA

6

3

2

SIZE: Land 2347sq m, house 490sq m.

PRICE INDICATION: 2008 CV $6.41 million. For sale by negotiation.

INSPECT: By appointment.

ON THE WEB: barfoot.co.nz/452676

SCHOOL ZONES: Meadowbank School, Remuera Intermediate, Epsom Girls' Grammar, Selwyn College. Close to private schools.

CONTACT: Paul Barnao, Barfoot & Thompson, ph 021 920 745.

FEATURES: Spacious 1880s home on large, flat site. Water views, multiple living areas and pool. Off-street parking for up to 12 cars.

Andrew Smith says sometimes people don't quite believe it when they hear he and his wife Jenny's Darwin Lane home is on half an acre of flat, north-facing land.

The Remuera lane, leading to an enclave of homes, is nestled on the hillside off Upland Rd, with views over Orakei Basin and across to Waitemata Harbour. Given the general lie of the land, you would expect the Smiths' 2347sq m site to be sloping but, as Andrew rightly points out, the garden around number 7 is flat, apart from one corner under some fruit trees.

While the topography has been brilliant for easy family living, the lane's outlook is what captured the Smiths more than 16 years ago. They had been living in Titirangi, but moved to be closer to St Cuthbert's College, where their three daughters were going to school. "We'd pretty much decided to buy the house from the driveway, even before we set foot inside," recalls Andrew. "It was the setting - the privacy and the quietness, the view and the way the house faces north," adds Jenny.

The property is steeped in history, although it has no heritage protection. Jenny says there are records of the land in Darwin Lane becoming a dairy farm after a Crown grant in 1856. The house itself, the original farm homestead, dates from the 1880s. "What is left of the farm creamery is still next door," says Jenny. Another chapter of the home's history is a 1905 photo that Andrew and Jenny have, showing the house as it was then and members of the Bevins family who lived there. Architectural features visible in the photo - a tower and Victorian double veranda - have since gone, but the house retains an old-world charm.

Approached from a return-driveway, the home has a Georgian-style look, with an elegant symmetry. A charming front porch gives a hint of the vista the house enjoys. "We find first-time visitors come to the front door and then seem to migrate down to the garden to look at the view," Andrew says. There is always something to look at - whether it is outrigger canoes or Sea Scout regattas in the summer or the green paddocks on the hillside towards Orakei.

Inside the house, rooms are generous. To the right of the entrance hall is a cosy, book-lined living room with a gas fire used by Andrew and Jenny as a snug place to watch TV.

Across the hall is the main, sun-filled living space, warmed by an open fireplace. This, in turn, flows through to a formal dining room, also with a fireplace. "This is such a gorgeous room at night," says Jenny. Both the dining and formal living rooms open on to a porch and the garden.

Next along from the formal dining area are the kitchen and family dining room, which lead out to the garden and paved pool area. With European beech cabinetry, Gaggenau appliances and terrazzo and Corian benchtops, the kitchen has a timeless look.

Further rooms downstairs include a powder room, plus a family rumpus and games room, added in a 1970s renovation. Access to it is through a double carport or from the pool patio. "This was great when the girls were younger," says Jenny. "They could be having their parties at home, but not be in the house."

Two of the girls' bedrooms were in a wing above the rumpus room, sharing a bathroom. The third daughter's room is in the original section of the house. There are two further spare rooms, each used by Jenny and Andrew as their respective offices. The master suite is enormous - with a dressing room, large bedroom and a to-die-for new en suite, with a standalone bath on a plinth to maximise the amazing view.

All this space is why Andrew and Jenny have put their home on the market.

"It was wonderful with the kids, but they've fled the camp and we really don't need six bedrooms now," says Andrew.