Coatesville: English style

Space, space and more space make this English-type home a dream-like dwelling, writes VICKI HOLDER.

For seven years an English family lived quite happily in their Lockwood home on an idyllic lifestyle property in the heart of Coatesville. The modest house was all they needed, for it was comfortable and easy to keep clean, say the owners.

Then two years ago, when they decided to sell, it suddenly struck them what an asset they had. Their prime, gently undulating, land is within easy commuting distance of the CBD and in the sought-after school zones of Kristin College and Coatesville Primary. Apart from the house, it fulfilled many a fantasy. It even has a little stream bubbling through the willow trees.

Because the owner was a talented builder, it seemed a shame not to build a much grander home to really do the setting justice. So the couple set their sights on a traditional English manor house with all of today's modern accoutrements. And for two years they have enjoyed coaxing their dream to fruition.

Only just completed and fitted out with beautiful English fabrics and fittings, it's an enormous, beautifully proportioned home on three levels that is fit for a lord or lady, their guests and all their children.

A succession of adjoining formal and casual living areas on the ground floor are designed to host huge crowds for parties or to be used separately for more intimate occasions. All the rooms feature underfloor heating and open through french doors to an elegant, sunny, black and white chequerboard terrace enjoying peaceful countryside views.

Eventually, climbing plants will weave their way through the pergola above and soften the lines of the home. Close to the house, the garden features simple plantings in planter boxes. However, the grassy lawn is a vast level expanse for future owners to add a pool if they wish.

Double doors from the foyer open into a comfortable family sitting room and a formal lounge with a gas fire. It extends into an intimate library with plenty of built-in shelving. At the other end, the family areas - with kwila floors - include a handy office that can be concealed behind bifolds when not in use.

Klassic Kitchens designed the country-style kitchen, which features pale gold hues matched with small yellow tiles above a granite benchtop and pretty pewter drawer handles. The big gas Smeg oven is destined to be used for preparing many fine meals.

A traditional plate rack above the sink allows china to be displayed, rather than hidden away. And there's ample storage in the kitchen cupboards, as well as in the adjacent butler's pantry where food can be stacked on open shelves for easy access. The two-car garaging can be accessed from the kitchen (there is also parking for three more cars in the original garage with loft in front of the house).

The big, country-style laundry has lots of bench space for sorting washing and folding clothes.

Guests have their own large bedroom-lounge suite on the ground floor with a separate access. The vibrant drapes, a swathe of vivid pink roses, in the private sitting room are sure to put anybody in a sunny disposition. While designed for guests, these spaces would work equally well as an office.

On the two upper levels, there are five large, beautifully decorated bedrooms plus a study and nursery. They all feature Anna French or Designers Guild window fabrics. The stunning tiled family bathroom and en suite have pretty listello trims.

Built into the pitch of the roof, the attic is an exceptionally long room where the children can play away from the adults. Painted in soft ice cream hues of mauve and pink, it's a dreamy feminine area that is currently used as a dance studio.

A particularly ambitious project, this large, country home spreads out across the land and offers numerous rooms to relax and play in.

Vital statistics

ADDRESS: 25 Sunnyside Rd, Coatesville.

FEATURES: Large, English manor-style home on lifestyle property; vast living areas opening to terrace; family area with kitchen; dining room; casual sitting room; lounge and library; five bedrooms plus guest or work-from-home suite with another lounge; study; rumpus and dance room in attic; underfloor heating downstairs; Living Flame fireplace in lounge; gourmet kitchen; internal access to two-car garaging plus separate garaging for three cars and loft; purpose-built dog run; telephone booth hideaway in kitchen; butler's pantry.

SIZE: Land area 1.4554ha; floor area 623sq m (approx).

AUCTION: November 12 at Bayleys' Maritime Square rooms.

AGENT: Jo Lanigan, Bayleys North Shore. Ph 489 0965 bus; 027 279 5468 mob.