SCHOOL ZONES:
Pukekohe East, Ramarama, Pukekohe High
CONTACT:
Scott McElhinney, Barfoot & Thompson, 0272 108 887.
A home inspired by the warmth of natural timber and texture of Central Otago schist has made itself very much at home among the hills and valleys of rural Ramarama south of Auckland.
When Maryann and Dave Keppel bought this property 15 years ago, it was bare land grazed by sheep. By the time they'd cut the building platform into the undulating landscape, they'd refined their preferences down to a home with a soaring roofline with cedar cladding and schist -- the latter used as both exterior cladding and as a structural landscaping element in the entry bridge above the dry river garden across the front of the house.
Within this home's footprint they encompassed everything on their wishlist. The house is as appealing for their own out-of-town family and friends as it is for them to come home to at the end of a long day.
Off the double front door, a separate guest wing, originally intended as a homestay, has three bedrooms, each with double wardrobes and matching tiled en suites.
On the same entry level there are the family's living areas, comprising a formal lounge and dining room with an appealing shared gas fireplace and a connectivity with the adjoining casual living/dining/kitchen that all face due north.
Along a little further at the opposite end of the house there are leisure activities to choose from, including the media room with its large movie screen, the in-ground indoor pool and changing room, a large gymnasium and the bespoke sauna.
Image 1 of 4: This expansive and glamorous property on 6ha offers many options for graceful living
It's a breeze getting to all this of a morning for Maryann and Dave and their two daughters. It is just a trot down the spiral staircase to the pool from their bedroom wing upstairs. This includes the master bedroom (with kitchenette behind closed doors), the family bathroom and two other bedrooms, one of which has an en suite. Upstairs there is also an additional self-contained two-bedroom flat offering further lifestyle options.
This couple with the big vision planned the house in conjunction with architectural designer Craig Mulholland of Pukekohe. Construction took two years.
They have incorporated natural materials on the inside, including Tasmanian oak pitched ceilings in the formal lounge and in the flat form of the kitchen ceiling.
Beneath the golden granite benches in the kitchen there is American oak cabinetry. Their choice of kwila timber flooring inside arose because it had been used outside and they could see no good reason not to keep continuity.
This home features alternative energy sources. Power is supplied by solar panels and a wind turbine on the hill behind the house. In summer, hot water for the house and pool is heated by the solar hot water panels; in winter it is generated by the 17kW wetback behind the double oven/cooker that also heats the tiled floors. All this comes with electricity back-up, says Dave.
Their energy has also been directed into the landscaping, including the now-mature trees planted along the edge of the driveway, the gardens around and beneath the entry bridge and the bluestone feature rocks.
For Dave and Maryann it has been a recreation of a lot of what they had seen in magazines and on trips. Now they're looking for a characterful home on a smaller scale, better suited to their current family needs.
