KEY POINTS:
A musical couple have created a special home and business in the country.
138 Wade River Rd, Arkles Bay, Whangaparaoa.
When Grant Tromp came back from years as a musician in Europe he had a $1500 overdraft and big dreams to create a special retreat where musicians could write, rehearse and record their albums away from the big city glare.
With the help of plans from architect Don Nelson he won the bank manager over to his vision and 10 years of creating began. A few years after he started the project he met French singer/songwriter Brigitte Legender - "We started talking because my guitar was the same colour as his drum-kit," laughs Brigitte - and the dream expanded to include day spas, corporate retreats and hosting weddings and parties.
"We wanted a place where artists would feel looked after - this is one of the few places in the world that combines writing and contemplating spaces, with those for rehearsals, recording and live performances, all in one place," explains Grant, who runs his Universal Records business from the upstairs office.
It helped that Grant's first career in the 1970s was as a builder, remodelling the then undesirable villas of Ponsonby and Freemans Bay. His accumulated stash of windows, doors and fine kauri made its way into the house.
While he claims the creation is never complete and is always adding touches to the garden and house, the couple have run the business from their sheltered valley in Arkles Bay for five years. They call their home Rocacabana, their band the Valley Goats, but the house has more an air of sunny Tuscany, with its plastered finish, stone tiled entry floors and crafted timber finishes.
Every detail has been thought through: from the upstairs office mezzanine the couple can see visitors pull into the sweeping driveway at the top of the property (paved over the original logging track from the 1900s) and keep an eye on spa guests circulating in the lobby. The front of the house accommodates two serene bedrooms and a spa bathroom with its own courtyard, currently used by Brigitte's roster of masseurs and aromatherapists. But it could equally well house teenagers in their own space, as across the entrance lobby is the heart of Grant's dream: a fully soundproofed recording studio with editing suite - it is easy to imagine it for teenage parties or the family/media room. Upstairs, a master suite opens off the sunny mezzanine, currently used as office space but perfect as a quiet parents' retreat with glimpses of bush and trees.
Family living is split over two levels - dining room and living share a cosy gas fireplace - which all open to a Mediterranean-style covered loggia. Offering shady outdoor living all summer, it soaks low winter sun in the colder months, and opens to spreading lawns and views of the bush valley. A series of decks and walkways open to the spa and pool complex - more of Grant's work-in-progress - with every slab of old timber and marble having a fossicker's tale to accompany it. A colourful family kitchen with breakfast spot and back entrance can be closed off from guests when the caterers arrive.
The pool and spa complex in turn open to a vast lawn that fits a professional quality marquee for parties of up to 100 people. It is edged by a sand floor cabana with its own bar and South African barbecue. The couple particularly love the house at night, when glow worms light banks down the driveway and electric lights highlight spots in the garden.
But they are now craving even more space and tranquillity further out from the city, where they can raise their 2-year-old son Jesse and create another retreat for musicians.
VITAL STATISTICS
BEDROOMS: 3
BATHROOMS: 2
GARAGES: *
*Parking for up to 50 cars.
SIZE: Land 8102sq m, house 280sq m.
PRICE: Buyers over $1 million should view. Auction July 1.
INSPECT: Sat/Sun 1.30-2.15pm.
ON THE WEB: www.harcourts.co.nz/rocacabana and www.sanctuarynewzealand.co.nz
SCHOOL ZONES: Stanmore Bay and Whangaparaoa Primary schools, Whangaparaoa College, Orewa College, with Wentworth College and Kingsway private schools nearby.
CONTACT: David Nightingale, Harcourts, ph 027 227 2949.
FEATURES: Ten-year-old architect designed home nestled in a secret and sunny valley of native woodland, with landscaped grounds, pool, cabana. Garage currently converted to fully sound-proofed recording studio and property run as a spa retreat and wedding venue, but could easily be a family hideaway home.
