Life on the edge

Photo / Ollie Dale

83A THE STRAND ONETANGI WAIHEKE ISLAND

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SIZE: Land 805sq m, house 211sq m.

PRICE INDICATION: Offers expected over $2.5 million.

INSPECT: Phone for appointment.

ON THE WEB: www.thestrand.net.nz

SCHOOL ZONES: Te Huruhi Primary and Waiheke High School (includes Year 7 and 8).

CONTACT: Daniel Burrill, Bayleys, ph 021 755 793 or 0800 755 793.

FEATURES: Contemporary beach home designed by Richard Priest, just across the road from Waiheke's popular Onetangi beach. Cedar exterior, Cape Cod-style interior, American oak flooring throughout, wooden shutters. Entertainers' dream with heated plunge pool and extensive decking.

You know the adage ... you can't judge a book by its cover. Well, the same goes for Roy and Jan Meares' beachfront home on The Strand at Onetangi.

From the outside, the Waiheke Island home presents as one of architect Richard Priest's modern designs. Yet, step inside and you're in a relaxed beach house environment, almost cottage-style in its decor.

Roy tells how they chanced across the empty section while walking along Onetangi Beach a few years ago after a relaxed Sunday lunch. All the way home Roy repeated the contact number he had seen on the For Sale sign in the sandy soil, ringing the agent only to learn the property was sold. But the next day, the agent rang back to say the sale had fallen through.

At the time, Jan and Roy were living in another of Richard's houses on the island at Anzac Bay, and decided to approach the architect to work on a special beach house to fit the section.

The clever design is based on a lighthouse, with the sloping cedar walls and a "celestial window" running around the perimeter just below the roof line.

They had to work within a height restriction so the sea views of the existing house behind would not be blocked. But Priest told Roy that by digging down and stepping up the house through three levels they could have two storeys.

At entry level you have the front deck, living area and kitchen with sliding glass doors out to another deck area and plunge pool. Ten steps take you to the next level with its bedroom, bathroom and garage and then another seven steps to the upper level with hallway along to the master bedroom, en suite and another bedroom.

When the house was finished in 2006, the cedar was very dark but now, along with the copper flashings, it has mellowed from the sun to a charcoal shade.

Every room has a view, including some interesting perspectives of baches and beach from slatted windows along the upper hallway.

Although Priest went with a modern exterior, Roy and Jan opted out of continuing the minimalist look inside. Being a beach house, they wanted anyone walking through the door to feel relaxed, as if they were on holiday. They liked the look of exposed walls, and didn't want every wall gibbed. However, the architect wasn't quite so keen on exposed framing and after discussion, the compromise of a rustic Cape Cod look was settled on, with some interior walls done in board-and-batten and open shelving in the kitchen and bathrooms.

Adding to the beach feel is American oak flooring and walls and cabinetry with paint washes in colours true to the sand and sea.

The kitchen and bathrooms feature Perrin & Rowe pewter tapware, which gives the impression the house has been here for while rather than a new build - exactly the look Roy and Jan were aiming to achieve. "We didn't want to take this house too seriously, we hope it is quirky and a bit of fun."

Shuttered doors mean that in summer the rooms can be opened up to feel more spacious, while in the cooler months the rooms can be closed off to keep the warmth in, especially in the main living space where a gas fire quickly heats the area. Landscaping includes sand, beach grasses and cabbage trees.

The couple and their son Tom lived here for two years while Tom went to high school on the island. But with Tom based in Sydney for work, and Roy having retired recently, Jan and Roy are pursuing their dream as "baby boomers" to spend southern summers in New Zealand and as much time as possible in Europe.

But to finance that dream, the beach house has to sell. And Roy has his fingers crossed that the new owners will appreciate the house for its position, atmosphere and design.

"I don't imagine the new owners will be Mr and Mrs Average, and I don't mean that in a derogatory sense, but someone who wants something different," he says.

"The lovely thing about this house is that you can have it as a holiday home but you can also live here permanently. It's big enough that you don't get cabin fever."