Whitford: Cottage charm

A touch of England has descended on Whitford in the form of this fabulous collection of buildings offering piles of potential. By VICKI HOLDER.

It might look hundreds of years old, but this picturesque cluster of rustic English cottage-style farm buildings on the Turanga Creek is designed to deceive.

Time-honoured construction methods and materials give a slightly weathered, rough-edged appearance that sets the three linked buildings apart from most modern homes.

Whitewashed clinker brick walls over a concrete block base have been laid in an irregular jumbled fashion. Canadian cedar timber shakes sit unevenly to make the roof seem authentically old.

The timber bracing across the little peaked dormer window roofs came straight from the trees - roughly sawn branches were painted and fitted to the walls without the usual refinement.

Every effort has been made to make modern features blend into the property. The owners even hid the water tank behind the walls of the third building so that it didn't intrude on the landscape.

The interior walls are plaster instead of the usual gib. The owner attributes the solidity of the plaster to the lasting good look of the paint effect finishes by Juliet Banford.

Quirky cottage charm begins in the entry with white Carrara marble floors trimmed in black tiles. The staircase, painted black to match the window joinery, rises towards a tall leadlight window, which the owner designed using typically English-style patterns. It incorporates faceted rondels and fan shapes in the Arts & Crafts tradition.

The ceiling in the kitchen was lowered and set with rustic beams for a traditional farmhouse look, which is complemented with recycled timber doors on the pantry and storage area. The heated floors are a combination of white tiles and colourful, handmade Italian tiles.

The grand, free-standing kitchen stove is one of four in the country, imported by Ambience Interiors. Rock gas is piped under the floor from behind, and it also has a built-in electric fryer. Hand-painted with flowers, it matches the grand French Provincial-style flue above.

The kitchen spills out through a conservatory-style breakfast area to a pretty rose garden across a U-shaped granite bench. Sunlight pours in through the rooftop glazing of another conservatory that forms a separate sitting room on the other side of the kitchen. The two conservatories blend the interiors with the garden through a succession of french doors.

Guests move from the entry through french doors to the formal dining and lounge area. The rooms look through leadlight windows into a colourful spring bulb garden and beyond the picket fence to the creek that snakes its way out to sea.

Warmth oozes from the heated timber floors. The sumptuous decorative features include a floral frieze that wraps around the walls of the dining room at ceiling height. The ceilings, glazed with layers of lacquer, were hand-crafted by Sylvia Sandford.

The cream, silk curtains offer a sense of English formality in the predominantly cream lounge, where a fire burns in the white marble fireplace in winter.

A pretty guest bedroom with coordinating striped floral wallpaper and curtains is located next to a traditional-style bathroom downstairs. Most of the upper level is taken up by a huge master bedroom suite, with an adjoining office, en suite and dressing room. Another small room with interesting ceiling angles would make an excellent children's room.

The utility areas, including the laundry and four-car garaging, are housed in a complex linked by a covered walkway. The owners lived in the comfortable, solid kauri self-contained living area upstairs when the main house was being built. With its peaceful rural and water outlook, it offers an opportunity for boutique accommodation.

The living area, adjoining a large studio, with tawa parquet flooring opens to another walkway leading to additional self-contained accommodation above dog kennels.

As dog breeders, the owners employ a caregiver to live in when they travel overseas. The beautiful whitewashed bedroom would make the perfect teenage retreat above this kitchen-living area.

Originally designed by Malcolm Brown Architects, the complex was repainted and refurbished last year. The quality fittings include solid brass door handles and light switches. The bathrooms feature Grohe tapware, heaters, heated towel rails and extractor fans, and every room features halogen lighting on dimmers.

The channelled driveway makes a dramatic entry winding along the waterfront towards the home, which is elevated on a hillside. The lawns and pretty manicured gardens, designed by Daniel Tohill, are dotted with mature trees and watered by two computerised irrigation systems.

A slice of heaven that's home to animal lovers and dogs, this subdividable property offers an entrepreneur an appealing business opportunity in one of the prettiest rural settings in Auckland.

Vital Statistics

ADDRESS: L'Ausanne, 56 Potts Rd, Whitford.

FEATURES: Cluster of buildings designed in authentic English cottage style with views over the Turanga Creek; large level lawns and grazing paddocks; main house comprises three bedrooms and two bathrooms with family and formal living areas; barn comprises four-car garaging, laundry, bathroom and single bedroom downstairs plus kitchen, dining and living upstairs; kennel house comprises a kitchen, living area with bedroom above and tiled kennels opening to a grassy lawn below; computerised irrigation systems; jet stream septic tank; security gates with intercom; two-stage alarm system.

SIZE: Land area approx 4.16ha.

PRICE: $2.895 million.

AGENT: Kath Lavis, Barfoot & Thompson, Whitford. Ph 530 8292 bus; 021 764 761 mob.