SCHOOL ZONES:
Green Bay Primary, Glen Eden Intermediate, Green Bay High.
CONTACT:
Karlene Ashworth-Dennis and Robyn Baldock, Bayleys, 021 071 9555 (Karlene) or 027 313 2590 (Robyn).
AUCTION:
May 23 (unless sold prior).
Fiona Kelly calls her family's home "a boomerang bungalow" because it was built in the angled shape of a boomerang to capture surrounding views.
"We've got a vista out every window," she says, pointing out one across the Manukau Harbour to the airport and another looking across the Waitemata.
She and husband Bill have transformed the house into a light-filled retreat set amid tranquil Balinese-inspired gardens. However, much of the circa-1964 home's charms were hidden when Fiona bought here 15 years ago.
Back then she was drawn largely by the layout lending itself to having an office for her landscape design business. Ponga growing close to the home darkened its interior, which featured pink walls and carpet teamed with native wood and polyurethaned cork tile flooring.
Fiona met Bill and his two children that same year and he often jokes he is the labourer bringing to life her landscape design ideas. A pair of Titoki trees flank the driveway to the home, which is constructed of rimu weatherboards and cedar over a plastered block base. It's got a double garage, off-street parking and Travertine marble front steps.
Inside, rimu floors glow with a rich honey colour; a welcome discovery unearthed from under the cork tiles. The way the garden unfurls off the back of the home is particularly impressive. It provides a subtropical backdrop to entertaining on west-facing patios and is enhanced by outdoor lighting at night.
Fiona says: "We've got an awning that winds out right across the deck, which makes it feel like an outdoor room."
She's fond of the renovated kitchen-dining area, as much for its commanding view out on to the garden as for its smart functionality. The kitchen, with composite stonebenchtops, features two Japanese-inspired semi-opaque sliding doors, one to close it off from upstairs bedrooms and another fronting its scullery.
Image 1 of 6: Lush Balinese-inspired gardens provide the tranquil setting for an up-to-date, smart and functional haven
The living room with gas fire and doors out to the deck is a sunny place. "We get afternoon sun beaming in one side but also get morning sun beaming in the other."
The couple didn't realise trees were concealing potential views over the Manukau Harbour until a storm snapped a large branch.
Fiona says: "I saw something shimmering through the gap and thought, 'Is that the ocean through there?'"
The living area and kitchen-dining are topped with angled sarked ceilings concealing some of the extensive insulation the couple installed to make this a cosy family home. They also installed a ventilation system, heat pumps, LED lighting and replaced rotten decks. They've scaled back the amount of timber that used to feature in the interior, retaining some as accents. They've re-used native timber, with some re-invented as storage drawers in the partial wall between the living and kitchen-dining.
Three bedrooms lead off the upstairs hallway. One used as a reading room was useful as a children's TV room as it has good separation from downstairs' master suite.
Also off the hall is a Travertine-lined bathroom, a separate shower room and a laundry.
Downstairs the master bedroom opening to a little front courtyard has a walk-in wardrobe, an office area and en suite.
The property also includes rear lawn near its covered washing line area, a sunny northern citrus garden, a water feature and solar water heating. "It's been a real labour of love. It's quite emotional leaving a house like this because everywhere I look we've made improvements."
Now the children are away at university the couple are bound for Waiheke, where they're building a container house.
