KEY POINTS:
Broadcaster Paul Holmes and family have enjoyed the lock-up-and-leave aspect of their light-filled townhouse.
1A Mahoe Avenue, Remuera.
Paul Holmes is coming home exhausted these days, so is appreciating the "restful" nature of his house more than ever.
The broadcaster rises before dawn to get to work for his radio show, then puts in hours of practice for his turn on the new series of Dancing with the Stars, beginning on April 10.
The afternoon we visit he can't resist showing us some of the steps he learned that day with dance partner Rebecca, though his courtyard doesn't give him much room to manoeuvre.
"That's partly why we're moving - we haven't got enough dancing room," jokes his wife Deborah, herself an accomplished dancer who will no doubt be called upon for rehearsals as Paul advances through the show.
The couple have been in this Brent Hulena-designed house for a year, and have loved many things about it. But it doesn't quite have enough outdoor space for Paul to indulge his passion for gardening, so they're moving to a house on a larger piece of land. Still, one of the aspects Paul enjoys about this house is that from nearly every room you have a garden view.
"It's eminently restful," he says. "It's easy on the eye, and the lighting has been beautifully designed to make it just as relaxing at night."
You get a glimpse of the garden as soon as you enter the home's foyer - straight ahead of you is the formal lounge with a gas fire, and windows either side.
They reach up through a double-height space shared by the dining room next door to create an atrium, allowing light to pour through the house.
Shutters on the top windows allow sunshine to be reduced on hot days, and are a design feature repeated throughout the house. Bifold doors open the lounge to the courtyard that stretches along the western rear of the house, past the dining room to an outdoor dining space by the kitchen and family area. The dining space has automatic louvres above it to shield sun and rain.
A high hedge along the back of the section provides privacy - Paul is growing a magnolia hedge through it, and is very proud of a lower hedge of gardenias.
"Any gardener will tell you that gardenias either grow or they don't, but these are thriving," says Paul. "We've had a lovely summer enjoying their scent."
He points out a row of yuccas by the side fence - as tall as cabbage trees. At the other end of the courtyard a path winds off beneath a pohutukawa through a rhododendron glade outside his office. This room has its own en suite so could be downstairs bedroom.
The kitchen and family room also opens on the opposite side to another courtyard to catch the morning sun. Here a bougainvillea wraps around the fence, fronted by olive trees, a port wine magnolia, and iceberg standard roses that Paul couldn't resist planting.
"It's wonderful how all the living spaces open to the outside - it's a great entertainer's house," says Paul. "And the kitchen is a real chef's kitchen. It has this wide bench where guests can sit on stools and be surrounded by plates and drinks while you're getting a meal ready."
Upstairs is a mezzanine living area which has been turned into a home theatre courtesy of a roll-down screen. Two bedrooms and a bathroom are off this space. Paul's daughter Millie has the one with a Juliet balcony looking down into the garden. A room currently used as a mini-gym could be a fifth bedroom, or a study.
At the other end of this floor is the master suite. The bedroom opens onto its own balcony, lined with shutters that provide privacy but allow the breeze to blow through. A high, sloping ceiling adds a greater sense of space.
"I love the way this room gives itself to the light," says Paul. "It's just lovely waking up here on weekend mornings. It's a little bit of luxury - like staying in a room in a nice hotel."
Deborah says the configuration of this upper floor makes it a good family home.
"The kids can be up one end with the home theatre and their bedrooms, and we can be down the other in this little island of calm," she smiles.
So the house is spacious, but has the qualities of a townhouse, which has suited Paul and Deborah's lifestyle.
"We've got the farm down in Hawkes Bay, so we wanted something that was low-maintenance that we could lock up and leave," says Deborah.
"But we liked this place's airiness and spaciousness," adds Paul. "It's a proper home that you can also treat like a townhouse."
Now he's looking forward to getting his hands into a bigger garden - which may be a good way to relax after a hectic day on the dancefloor.
VITAL STATISTICS
BEDROOMS: 4+
BATHROOMS: 3+
GARAGES: 2
SIZE: Land half share of 1072 sq m, house 321sq m (approx).
PRICE INDICATION: CV $1.81 million. Interest expected around $2 million. Sale by negotiation.
INSPECT: Sat/Sun 3-3.45pm.
ON THE WEB: www.barfoot.co.nz # 360403.
SCHOOL ZONES: Victoria Avenue Primary, Auckland Grammar, Epsom Girls Grammar.
CONTACT: Julie Fitzpatrick, Barfoot & Thompson, ph 021 530 290.
FEATURES: Brent Hulena-designed townhouse with generous living spaces that open to courtyard gardens.
