Italian passion

Lombardy, 257 Paremoremo Road, Albany. 

For a lover of all things Italian, this home was a must-have, writes Graham Hepburn. 

Gina Syms has a love of all things Italian, and a habit of tearing pictures of the country out of magazines and putting them on her noticeboard. 

While sitting in a lawyer's waiting room in 1999 she came across a picture in a magazine of a grand Italian-style villa for sale. She loved the look of the place so she ripped out the picture. It wasn't until later that she realised the house was in Albany, not far from her Orewa home. 

She showed her husband and he said "let's go have a nosy". 

"We were blown away by the place," says Gina. "It's a really emotional house - you either love it or you hate it - because it's got such a presence about it." 

They put in an offer straight away, and had a double celebration on New Year's Eve when they heard that Lombardy was theirs. 

Gina loves the proportions and rustic charm of the two-storey home, which was built with solid block then plastered. 

"The house is done in earthy colours. It has old bridge beams outside, and inside it's got solid macrocarpa beams throughout and solid macrocarpa doors; some of the floors downstairs are Hinuera stone. Everything in the house is big and chunky," she says. "It's not pretentious - it's a crusty bread and red wine sort of place where you kick off your shoes." 

When you walk through the main doors you come into a dining hall that Gina describes as "quite medieval in feel". Off that is the triple-height formal lounge that Gina calls the Tower Room, which has an open fire. Moving through the dining hall takes you into an open plan kitchen and family room that has a gas fire. On one wall there is a set of heavy velvet curtains, behind which is the media room. 

Up the stairs, which have a wine cellar beneath them, are the bedrooms. On this floor there is also a bridge that runs along the length of the dining hall and overlooks the formal lounge. The master bedroom not only has a 5m-long walk-in wardrobe but also has two fully equipped en suites. This bedroom and the large bedroom next door open on to a covered deck that overlooks the courtyard. 

In the landscaped grounds there are Lombardy poplars, an olive grove, banks of ivy, a petanque court, and a spa pool set under a pergola of bridge beams. The property has riparian rights and there are views across the water to Greenhithe. 

Gina and her husband have spent the past two years building a similar style home on a coastal section. A lot of that time has been spent sourcing materials like the bridge beams used at Lombardy. "We're leaving because we've got a long-term plan to live at Mangawhai, maybe to retire there, but with something we can lock up and leave in Auckland." 

Vital Statistics: 

BEDROOMS: 4 

BATHROOMS: 4 

GARAGE: 4 

SIZE: Land 4874sq m, house 470sq m, plus 95sq m shed. 

PRICE INDICATION: Offers above $2 million considered. Tenders close July 6 unless sold prior. 

INSPECT: Phone for viewing times. 

CONTACT: Willi Bardohl, Bayleys Albany, ph 0274 922 925.

FEATURES: Palatial home with formal and informal living rooms, two fireplaces, spa pool and master bedroom with two en suites. Electric gates on driveway and extensively landscaped grounds with petanque court. Covenanted bush on two sides of the property, which has riparian rights.