KEY POINTS:
48 RAURENGA AVE,
ROYAL OAK.
Look out the picture windows in the kitchen and living room of Sonya Dawes' house and you'd swear you're in the middle of the countryside, kilometres away from anywhere.
The view is of rolling green pastures, big leafy trees and a herd of cows, who often amble over to the stone wall between their field and the Dawes' home and try to peer in the tinted windows.
But this idyllic, seemingly rural setting is in fact only about 6km from Auckland city centre and a few minutes walk from a busy shopping area. The house adjoins Cornwall Park and was designed to make the most of its coveted position.
"It does feel as if you're in Clevedon or somewhere similar," says Sonya. "There can't be many houses in the city that have views like this."
Her husband, Brian, has had a long-running passion for this part of Auckland - this home is the seventh he's owned that backs on to the park.
"We've just kept moving further and further along the edge of the park towards the city," laughs Sonya.
When the traditional 1930s bungalow across the road from their previous home in Raurenga Ave came up for sale a couple of years ago, the couple snapped it up. Its location on the other side of the street meant the back of the house was northfacing and the fact that it was on a full, elevated site also appealed. They looked into ways of renovating the house but, in the end, decided it was easier to pull it down and start from scratch.
"But we still wanted to keep the traditional look, which is why we went for the dark weatherboards," says Sonya.
They joined forces with building company Jalcon to come up with a home that was ideal for family living. The house is spread over two levels, making the most of the sloping section. On the ground floor is the entrance, staircase, a large laundry and two separate garaging areas. There is also a wine cellar down here, with a skylight up to the hallway above. This quirky feature means you can look down on the cellar as you walk over the toughened glass (the same sort as used in the SkyTower) in the upstairs hall.
Off that hall is a bathroom and three bedrooms, including the master suite. This includes a walk-in wardrobe and a tiled en suite. The bedroom has a picture window, with tinted glass, that looks over the park as well as views from another window of the Manukau Harbour.
The living area at the back of the house is open plan. It is kept warm in winter with a wood-burning fire and opening the doors out to the deck helps keep it cool in summer. The kitchen has an enormous island bench and a butler's pantry, plus a double fridge that will be sold with the house.
Off this area is a fourth bedroom, which could be used as a study, and a second living room with a gas fire.
The private back garden extends over three terraces and is the perfect space for children to run around in. Brian and Sonya have kept the original sleepout in the garden as it was built into the stone wall that separates their home from the park.
"We haven't done anything with it but you could turn it into a guest room or an office," says Sonya.
The house was finished a year ago and has been a wonderful place to live but the couple have decided to opt for a complete change of scenery and are moving to St Heliers.
