SCHOOL ZONES:
Pt Chevalier Primary, Pasadena Intermediate, Western Springs College.
CONTACT:
Lawrence von Sturmer, 027 227 9294, Derek von Sturmer, 0275 337 357, Jo de Beer, 027 469 4148, Professionals.
*Off street parking
Mum and dad, six children, a grandma and a cat and a dog once lived at Anne-Marie and Maurice Cervin's place.
The couple has been here 38 years and say the house has grown with them - they've carried out four major rebuilds over the years.
They arrived with threechildren and had three more. The Cervins have nine grandchildren with more on the way.
The house might have once struggled to accommodate so many people but now it is easy to have big gatherings and family Christmases around the outdoor table by Anne-Marie's idyllic garden.
Once a single level, smallish four-bedroom house, now there are four large bedrooms (two up and two down), four decks and two living areas - and a private garden lovingly planted to attract the birds.
Anne-Marie is the gardener and main bird-lover and is also a dab hand at photographing them, with her prints adorning the walls.
The house is in a sought-after location. Across the road is a beach that the Cervins say is the only west-facing beach in central Auckland. Otherwise, it's a drive to the west coast beaches.
One of their first rebuilds was adding the second storey and this takes advantage of the sea view.
Up here is a living area, two bedrooms, a bathroom, a private deck facing the sea and another deck looking over the garden.
The whole area is light and sunny with sloped ceilings that maximise the height.
Much of downstairs has been rebuilt over the years, too, from the rimu kitchen to the bathroom and the two other bedrooms.
The downstairs lounge is huge and has loads of windows, leading to the kitchen that has a partly glassed ceiling and bifold doors so Anne Marie could keep an eye on the children.
15 Harbour View Rd, Pt Chevalier, home of Anne-Marie and Maurice Cervin. Fiona Goodall / Getty Images
The glass is carried on outside where it is tinted to provide shade over the garden deck.
The couple put in paving that leads down to a hidden full-size spa pool that also looks out to the garden. Past that is a garden shed.
Leaving the garden is the hard bit for Anne-Marie as she has nurtured it for years.
A level grassy area is surrounded by trees and flowers, bringing in tui, silver eye, fantails, rosella and the occasional kingfisher.
She loves the calming atmosphere and says it is protected from the elements.
"I don't know what label I'd put on it," she says. "I think the structure is native, really, with some things thrown in for the birds, like the bottle brush, and then the colour is probably tending more to the tropical thing."
Maurice is a great fan of Hundertwasser, who designed the iconic and colourful tiled Kawakawa public toilets, so one of Maurice's favourite features is the curved front garden path - he got in the same tiler to lay it.
While he had grander plans to build a Hundertwasser-style carport, he reckons it's probably best he didn't as all the tourist buses would have come by to take photos.
The house has been perfect for this family of graduates - everyone has one or more degrees, from Maurice in philosophy to the children who are engineers and lawyers.
Deciding to leave has thrown up some mixed feelings - "I never, ever thought I would leave this house," Anne Marie says - but the couple says the time has come.
At 65 and 76, they are moving to St Heliers and are excited by their new adventure after 38 years - and Anne-Marie gets to plan another garden.
