When Jenny Pederson and her late partner, Keith, first moved to their property near Warkworth, Jenny could never tell what day of the week it was.
With 27ha around the house and a driveway a kilometre long, it was so quiet that every day felt like Sunday. They had sold their 4.9ha block at Dairy Flat where Keith, an engineer and boat builder, had built their home, because he was keen to have more land.
"But we hadn't been able to find anywhere suitable, until I asked a friend who had worked in real estate whether she knew of anything," Jenny says. "She told us about this place, we came and looked at it that afternoon and we bought it that night."
Keith's experience told him the house was well built, and it was sited in the middle of a large piece of land. The 27.8 hectares is flat to rolling and well fenced. There's about 26ha in good pasture, with the remainder in native trees, and that suited his needs perfectly.
At the centre of the property the big, cedar-clad house has the look of an established country home built for family living. Keith and Jenny loved its style and were also attracted by the fact it had virtually everything they wanted and nothing needed to be done.
Double timber doors with stained glass sidelights open into a spacious, slate-floored foyer with a timber staircase. The kitchen, dining room, lounge and separate study/sitting room are all north facing, and bifold doors and sliding windows open the spaces up to the decks and garden.
There is one bedroom downstairs and two upstairs, so the space was ideal to accommodate Jenny's mother, who was living with them when they bought the house.
Image 1 of 7: Happy memories come free with this charming lifestyle block in wonderful Warkworth
"My son, who lives in the United States, comes to stay with his three children, and my daughter and her children are living here at the moment, so it's a really good family hub," she says. "It's lovely to have the house filled with children."
There is a separate studio with adjoining workshop, and farm buildings include a hay shed and a three-bay shed for plants and machinery.
The property is well suited to fattening stock, a stud or horses, and has excellent cattle yards. Around the house are the lawns and gardens that Jenny has established and maintained.
Low, clipped hedges around the house, simple borders and mature trees have ensured that the garden is easy care.
She has also enjoyed doing some renovations over the past year to update the house. She added another bathroom upstairs, repainted and put in new carpet, and remodelled the kitchen. "I've kept it all fairly neutral so it will go with any furnishings," she says.
While her intention is to downsize the land, she's planning to find somewhere with about an acre to ensure privacy and space for a garden. It could be an existing house, or she may decide to build.
"I will stay in the area, though," she says. "I will miss this house, especially the memories. But at the same time, moving on to the next stage of my life will be exciting."
