SCHOOL ZONES:
Royal Oak School, Auckland Normal Intermediate, Onehunga High School.
CONTACT:
Heather Walton, 021 432 167 or Nicholas Dallyn, 021 444 744, Ray White.
AUCTION:
March 8
*Plus off-street for several cars
Head along to Cornwall Park any weekend and you'll see children having fun in the playground, enjoying the flying fox, chugging along on the mini train or gazing skywards inside the Stardome Observatory.
Luckily for children Emily, 10 and Hunter, 9, their family home on Lewin Rd has its owngate to the park. "When they were younger they used to think it was their playground and wondered why other people were there," says their mother Kelly Robb with a smile.
Being right next to the park is what drew Kelly and her husband Brent to buy this property six years ago, after looking for the right place for some time. They lived in the "higgledy piggledy" older home that was on the site for a year as they planned their new build.
Kelly and Brent commissioned architect Brent Hulena to design their five-bedroom, three-bathroom home set down a driveway, private from the road. The old house on the site was dismantled piece by piece and then shipped to Fiji. "Even the old nails were straightened out and sent over," Kelly says. "It's quite cool to think our old house is now standing somewhere in Fiji."
Onform Construction built the Robbs' new home, with the finished result winning gold in the Master Builders' House of the Year Awards in 2012.
This was the Robbs' third house build. This experience, along with the fact Brent Robb is an engineer, mean there are special touches throughout. "My husband is thorough and a bit of a perfectionist," says Kelly. His perfectionism and expertise is evident inside the double-height entry foyer, where a curved stainless steel stairwell has American oak treads and a curved glass balustrade.
The staircase leads to a glass-sided bridge, which connects to a double bedroom that Kelly uses as her office. On the other side of the bridge, the north-facing master bedroom suite is sunny and warm, with a walk-through wardrobe and a well-appointed en suite. All the bathroom fittings in the house are from Spazio Casa, including the master suite's double shower with multiple jets.
Image 1 of 6: Light-filled, modern family home is perfectly spacious with its own access to Cornwall Park. Photos / Ted Baghurst
Emily and Hunter's bathroom has a walk-in shower and a "disco" Kohler bath. The infinity-edge bath has a shower attachment and a ceiling spout that sends a stream of water cascading from the height of the room into the tub. Even more eye-catching is its coloured lighting display. "We put the lights in as a special effect to make bath time fun when the kids were younger," Kelly says. Subtle under-vanity lighting comes on automatically at night if someone needs to use the bathrooms.
Emily and Hunter both have large bedrooms, with plenty of storage space, including cantilevered shelves for the siblings' many go-karting trophies and medals.
Downstairs, the light and airy living areas have the high stud and full-height windows and sliders the Robbs wanted. The link between the main living area and terrace outside is seamless, thanks to the same floor tiles being used in both areas. There's a sunken spa pool, while the barbecue is positioned on an ingenious platform off the edge of the terrace so that no outdoor living space is wasted.
A second, carpeted living area with a gas fireplace can be separated by cavity sliders. With a pull-down screen it's also a media room. There's a guest bedroom and bathroom on this level, as well as a sleek Poggenpohl kitchen.
The kitchen features a composite stone benchtop, an induction cooktop and stainless steel and white lacquer cabinetry.
After enjoying being parkside for four years, the Robbs are moving to be closer to Kelly's sisters in St Heliers and St Johns.
