Kumeu: Grand!

Not as old as she looks, this gracious rural homestead combines style on a grand scale with modern-day luxury must-haves, writes VICKI HOLDER.

This gracious, traditional home might be familiar if you've visited the historic Mansion House on Kawau Island. For the original owners were so inspired by the early colonial building they sought to replicate it on a lifestyle property in Kumeu. Although it looks at least 100 years old with its intricate fretwork and extensive use of rimu, Hillview Estate was built with all of today's luxury comforts just 15 years ago.

It was to be a dream family home of exceptional quality, generous proportions and extravagantly furnished living areas and bedrooms flowing to wrap-around balconies overlooking a mature, resort-like garden. More than $100,000 was spent on the fancy drapes and at least another $100,000 on the landscaping. However, the dream was not to be and the property lingered on the market, until Kay O'Connor finally convinced her husband Pat that they needed another home.

Pat and Kay have loved living here. It has everything you could ever want, they say. But they don't spend much time in New Zealand and such a big home deserves to be lived in properly by a family.

Whoever is fortunate enough to own the property will have one of the finest pieces of real estate in Auckland. It captures the essence of relaxed country living, offering the chance to entertain on a grand scale. Pat and Kay have had functions for more than 300 people and say it was easy. There are so many different spaces that you can enjoy it without feeling in the slightest bit cramped.

The downstairs living area opens to a parade of enormous rooms extending north to private, sun-soaked balconies. Lined with indigo wallpaper, the billiard room features a rimu bar at one end where drinks can be served to those enjoying the entertainment. It leads to the formal lounge with a gas fire in a traditional fireplace and elegant swags and tails around the windows. The formal dining is a beautiful room with fleur de lys wallpaper, cream wainscotting around the walls and another fireplace.

A family can relax in a sitting area off the rimu and granite kitchen next door. Casual meals can be served in a delightful glass conservatory just a few metres from the door.

With parquet flooring, the gym off the family area has a shower and toilet handy. There's internal-access garaging for two cars down a hallway and the American barn on the property has space for three more.

Most of the bedrooms are upstairs, opening to balconies, while a small bedroom at the front door is perfect for a teenager who doesn't want to wake parents when they come in at night. The master bedroom has room enough for several sitting areas and, on the way to the travertine en suite, it adjoins a dressing room bigger than the average bedroom. Pat works from home in a huge masculine study on the upper level with built-in rimu cabinetry for stashing paperwork and books.

Guests can stay in the pool cabana, a self-contained one-bedroom pavilion opening to the pool. The lounge and kitchen area extend to a terrace, protected on three sides from the weather by adjustable timber louvres.

An alluring outdoor entertainment area comes complete with a solar- and diesel-heated beach pool where children can have hours of fun on a hydro-slide beside a rocky waterfall. An impressive Fijian-style, thatched-roof gazebo houses an outdoor schist bar for barbecues. Just along the path through beautiful park-like grounds is a floodlit Astroturf tennis court.

There are two children's play houses on one of the lawns - one for the girls and one for the boys. Paddocks with post-and-rail fencing are suitable for horses, horticulture or crops. Fat pumpkins growing along the fenceline attest to the fertility of the soil.

Close to the vineyards - for which the area is renowned - cafes and the restaurants, Hillview Estate is a haven just 30 minutes from Auckland that makes you feel like you're in a tropical resort.

Vital Statistics

ADDRESS: 236 Access Rd, Kumeu.

FEATURES: Lifestyle property close to Kumeu village; grand traditional home with verandas, balconies, garage and porte-cochere; four bedrooms; billiard room; formal lounge; formal dining; family room; conservatory; gym; office; security system; central vacuum system; ornate cornices; designer drapes; eight telephone points; oversized rimu doors with fan-lights; guest house and American barn; 12m solar- and diesel-heated pool; Fijian resort-style gazebo; lights in garden; two large water tanks; beautifully landscaped grounds; circular driveway; several paddocks.

SIZE: Floor area 703sq m, land area 2.1769ha zoned future residential.

AUCTION: 2pm, April 14, at Bayleys Maritime Square auction rooms.

CONTACT: Shona Jurlina, Bayleys North West. Ph 416 7788 bus; 021 997 022 mob.