Coatesville: Luxurious escapism

A fabulous new look and a glorious setting make this French provincial-style home a gem of a rural retreat, writes VICKI HOLDER.

Emerging after a year-long renovation, a humble Coatesville lifestyle property has been reborn as a luxurious French provincial-style retreat.

Owners Melissa and Leo Bolt fell in love with the home's idyllic setting. The property encapsulates every city dweller's dream - facing north and set among mature trees on a gently elevated piece of land. Rolling down to a stream in the native bush, the view looks across grassy paddocks.

The previous house on the property had many faults and presented a challenge to the Bolts they could not ignore.

Melissa recalls how the previous interior felt closed in and dark and had poor access to the outdoors. A walkway linked the home to the triple-car garaging, which wasted space that could be better used inside.

The Bolts called on architectural designer Rex Little, of Littin, Little & Associates. Once they had reconfigured most of the spaces, they introduced vibrant colour using fabrics and the latest hard-wearing wallcoverings.

Most of the former interior walls have been demolished and the exterior walls pushed out to gain bigger living spaces. The old kitchen has been replaced with a new cobalt blue design featuring rimu trims and pull-out wicker baskets. The new Bosch appliances are coupled with a big stainless-steel Ilve oven with gas hobs.

The kitchen overlooks a spacious family room that eases out through sliding glass doors to an expansive deck above a swimming pool. The focus is north, but cedar shutters on the windows facing the driveway allow fresh air to circulate.

Meeting the family area through glazed cedar doors, the room opposite is split into a separate dining and sitting area by different ceiling heights. A steeply pitched tongue-and-groove ceiling slopes down from the second storey to give an uplifting atmosphere. Further back, a lower ceiling creates a cosy, intimate dining space that is wrapped in rich chocolate-coloured walls with a texture that resembles plaster. The dining area extends outdoors and the sliding glass doors are framed with silky drapes in a matching chocolate sheen.

A log fire warms the entire area on the coldest winter days, while sun pours in all year round.

Closing the gap in the middle section of the house - between the living areas and the garaging - made room for an impressive new entry with a sweeping staircase. A porte-cochere shelters the double doors that open to an enormous double-height foyer. A welcoming, golden-hued ante-room (a small room leading to the main room where guests can stash their coats) leads through glazed cedar doors to the lounge.

The new staircase has created space to hide a sound system, which allows the Bolts to channel their music inside and to the garden.

Several rooms have been added to an internal passage that links the living areas and the garage, including a guest bathroom and a good-sized laundry. The tiled, heated flooring continues from the entry foyer to the family room and these utility rooms to provide easy-to-clean surfaces.

Upstairs, two boldly coloured children's bedrooms - one blue, the other orange - and a big, tiled family bathroom have been added above the garage. They are accessed through a large, apple green and sky blue playroom, where children can watch TV or do their homework away from the household activity.

Between the children's wing and the master suite, visitors are treated to vivid red walls in a room that overlooks a flock of Suffolk-cross sheep grazing in the paddocks below.

Melissa and Leo escape to a romantic hideaway decorated in gold and burgundy, which is well-removed from the rest of the house. Their area features a fitted walk-through dressing room that leads to an elegant, tiled bathroom with a double-ended, frameless glass shower.

Nothing has been left untouched in this rural retreat. The landscaping uses grasses, easy-care shrubs and flowering trees. Even the farm buildings set the scene for seduction. There's a rustic batten-and-board barn as well as the original three-room Mahoenui Valley cottage. Pretty as a picture, it would make a great teenage sleepout or guest quarters.

Vital statistics:

ADDRESS: 46 Mahoenui Valley Rd, Coatesville.

FEATURES: French provincial-style home on lifestyle property; four bedrooms; children's playroom; family room; formal entertainment lounge and dining; two bathrooms; internal-access three-car garaging; under-floor heating; computer and Sky TV connections in each bedroom; barn/tractor shed; yards; covered corral; poultry house; original farmhouse; in-ground pool; landscaped gardens.

SIZE: Land area 1.987ha with six paddocks.

AUCTION: 3pm, October 19, on site.

AGENT: Lynn Honnor, Professionals, Albany Real Estate. Ph 415 9206 bus; 021 931 058 mob.