Ramarama: Fairy tale existence

VICKI HOLDER visits a fabulous retreat fit for the busiest of families in the most tranquil of settings.

Like Hansel and Gretel, Heather and John Tucker were wandering through the country one day when they stumbled on their gingerbread cottage. Just like the fairy tale children, they simply had to take a bite!

It would be hard to imagine a seduction scene more perfect. At Ramarama's most prestigious address, nestled in the tranquil hills, the home shelters behind stands of totara trees in an emerald green valley filled with abundant native bird life.

Embraced by the Ngakaroa stream, the sound of water is ever-present as it tumbles over rapids into a deep swimming hole. A series of peaked roofs cap kiln-fired Hinuera stone walls, which give the house a warm, toasted biscuit hue.

Although the house wasn't quite finished, Heather didn't waste time. She immediately called an agent to knock at the door and make an offer to buy on her behalf. Her speed was rewarded with success, plus the chance to continue fitting out the house - named Blackburn - to her own specifications.

The Tuckers selected their finishing touches, such as the pale honey-coloured carpet and smart drapes on metal rods that perfectly complement their furniture. They had the colour on the pale cork flooring in the family area specially mixed to match the mottled granite benchtop of the kitchen.

But there was nothing they would have changed about the home's layout. Heather says the formal and family areas flow extremely well in a circular fashion around the slate entry foyer. Every room, including the toilets and bathrooms, enjoys stunning views of the stream.

Open at one end to the family dining area, the large, cream-coloured kitchen steps through a door into the formal dining room. Generally the Tuckers share meals with guests out on the decks, which wrap around the family room. "We're outdoor people," Heather says, "and we tend to lunch outside, but it's nice to retreat to the formal room in winter."

Sporting a crystal chandelier and beautiful drapes over french doors, the dining room has a traditional ambience that brings a celebratory mood to formal occasions.

Keeping messy food preparation well away from the eyes of guests, a butler's pantry opens from a corner of the kitchen.

Heather notes Ramarama can be warmer in summer and colder in winter than the city. A free-standing log fire burns efficiently from a corner of the family area when it's cold, and under-floor heating in the foyer, lounge, dining room and tiled bathrooms lifts the temperature of the house.

Discreet speakers, fitted flush with the walls in the lounge and family room, are linked to a central sound system.

To the rear of the double garaging with internal access, a laundry houses a separate toilet and shower. Also behind the garage, John's office has a separate phone line for the computer.

The house accommodates the Tuckers' guests and grandchildren with ease in the spacious living areas plus four bedrooms and a large multi-purpose room. Fitted with skylights, it opens from the fourth bedroom, in the attic above the garage. Heather uses this room for storage and drying clothes in winter. However, it is large enough to become a great children's playroom or artist's studio.

The master bedroom features a dressing room plus en suite, and the guest bedroom and children's rooms sit beside generous, tiled bathrooms and separate toilets.

Since moving to the property, Heather has developed the garden and added irrigation. Grasses and hebes sprout from beds strewn attractively among outcrops of boulders. Leaves of virginia creeper, which is trained around the windows, soften the house's brickwork. The natural look suits the house, but Heather has coaxed a little more formality with a row of choisya shrubs, trimmed with a mondo grass hedge in front of the living room bay window.

More inviting than ever and only four years old, Blackburn is groomed for a family. It provides space, privacy and a dreamy country lifestyle minutes from the southern motorway.

Vital Statistics

ADDRESS: Blackburn, 57 Old Coachway, Ramarama.

FEATURES: Four-year-old Hinuera stone home on quiet lifestyle property in hidden valley; grazing paddocks; Ngakaroa stream part of the natural boundary; large family and formal living; separate formal dining; butler's pantry; four bedrooms plus playroom; office with second phone line; four bathrooms including shower and toilet in laundry; internal-access double garaging; under-floor heating in entry, lounge and bathrooms; free-standing log fire in family room; sensor alarm at gate; internal phone system; central vac.

SIZE: Land area 1.87ha; floor area 370sq m.

AUCTION: 2pm, March 8, on site.

AGENT: LJ Hooker, Papakura. Ph Ross Cory 294 8948 bus; 021 941 297 mob; Bob Croft 285 1728 bus; 021 685 198 mob; John Hirst 233 6133 ah; 021 642 948 mob.