Albany West: Home on the range

If all things equestrian are your thing, then look no further than this for your dream pad, writes VICKI HOLDER.

Come weekends, the mild-mannered owner of a commercial cleaning company saddles up and races around a corral heading and roping cattle.

Steve Polwart is your true urban cowboy. When he's not competing against fellow western riders at the local rodeo, he and his trusty bronco practice with a few steer at home on the ranch.

With his wife, Maggie, they own a lifestyle property - a stunning equestrian haven called The Gables - somewhere in the rolling hills of west Albany, which is 25 minutes from the CBD.

While it's well-suited to the family's relaxed country lifestyle, it's not your typical New Zealand home. Built in the 1980s with an abundance of rimu and cedar - trimmed with deep cedar soffits and copper spouting - it has a curious rambling mid-West American flavour. Steve hasn't been able to trace the name of the original architect, but he says it was inspired by the homes of famous American architect Frank Lloyd Wright.

A series of timber pavilions - some with flat roofs and others capped with steep pitched timber shingled gables - cluster almost haphazardly into the contours of the land. Gathering around the outdoor entertaining terraces and the heated swimming pool and spa, they all face north-west to bathe in the sun, which pours in through an abundance of glazed doors and windows framed with cedar.

Just about every room enjoys views across the rich green paddocks where the horses graze. Further in the distance a border of trees sprouts from a river bed valley, assuring total privacy.

The heart of the home is the kitchen, which peers over a breakfast bar through sliding glass doors to connect with those enjoying the pool outside. Timber tongue-and-groove cabinets and wooden benchtops glow beneath the skylights in the double-height roof. Off to one side, a small TV room provides an intimate family setting.

The room also flows through double doors to a formal lounge with pale blue wool carpet. A huge brick fireplace provides warmth in winter to heat most of the house. Cedar timber shades across the windows and doors to the terrace complement the golden richness of the natural timber in the tongue-and-groove ceiling.

The formal entry to the family room and lounge is through a glazed corridor opening directly from the double carport, where guests can park and enter the house without getting wet when it's raining.

Double garaging in front gives internal access for the family through the bedroom wing. A spacious loft beneath the eaves above the garage is a comfortable extra guest room. Even though it's not lined, it offers potential for further development.

The house contains three bedrooms plus a big office or fourth bedroom with built-in desks, as well as three bathrooms. One of the bedrooms opens to a private terrace with a spa pool behind the main living area.

The generous master bedroom sits in its own pavilion and adjoins a dressing room that walks through to a tiled en suite. It, too, has its own private, north-facing terrace where Steve and Maggie can contemplate the view in absolute peace and solitude.

In its park-like setting of immaculate lawns and lush subtropical landscaping, this beautiful executive residence with elite equestrian facilities is the perfect playground for those passionate about horses. Stables, a feed room, a truck garage and the all-weather dressage arena sit only metres from the house. Steve says one of the best aspects about it is being able to nip inside for a quick coffee when he tires of training with the horses.

Such things are important, especially if you have moved from the city and want to enjoy the ultimate in relaxed country living without any compromises.

Vital Statistics

ADDRESS: 40 Attwood Rd, Albany West.

FEATURES: Equestrian lifestyle property with architectural home built in the 1980s and renovated 10 years ago; three to four bedrooms; three bathrooms, including master en suite; walk-through dressing room in master; sleeping or storage loft above double garage; carport; outdoor entertaining area around heated swimming pool and spa; stables with horse truck shed and dressage arena; landscaped subtropical gardens and post-and-rail fenced paddocks.

SIZE: Land area 4.2865ha.

PRICE: $4,150,000.

AGENT: Logan Gilbert, Albany Professionals Real Estate. Ph 415 9206 bus; 415 2999 ah; 021 994 065 mob.