SCHOOL ZONES:
Omanu Primary, Mt Maunganui Intermediate and College.
CONTACT:
Charlotte Gardner, 07 572 8176, or Dirk Merwe, 07 572 8164, Eves.
AUCTION:
1pm April 14.
Long sight lines allow sea views from all corners of this Omanu beachfront home.
The 1960s modernist home sits on an elevated, flat 975sq m section at 183 Oceanbeach Rd, set slightly back from the sand.
John Murray grew up in this house and he, his wife Anna Cors andtheir three children returned from overseas in 2002 to live here.
John's father Mick and mother Pat built the single-level house in 1964, commissioning pioneering modernist Auckland architects Peter Mark Brown and Alan Fairhead for the design.
"With the beach on the doorstep and the golf course across the road, Mick had found the perfect spot," says John.
The house being built at the height of this country's modernist movement is reflected in the elegance that typifies the style - single-level, open, light-filled and connected with the landscape.
"The sea is visible from nearly every corner yet the property is very private and almost invisible from the beach," he says.
"You have the combination of the location and fantastic modern architecture."
John's father had done a tour of duty with the army in Japan after WWII and was a great admirer of Japanese architecture, so elements of this are woven into the design. The central courtyard now has decking but was once a Japanese garden with fishponds, bridges and pagodas.
When Mick died in 2002, John bought the property from his mother. He and Anna, opera singers, put their European careers on hold to live here with their young family.
Any improvements they have made have been faithful to the the spirit and style of the period.
"The structure of the house is a concrete block, so we insulated, double-glazed and replaced the roof," says John.
"But we haven't done a lot internally. We switched out the pendant lighting for down lighting just to clean out the architecture."
Image 1 of 6: Enjoy sea views from almost every window while keeping your privacy.
They decked the courtyard to make it an entertaining space.
"It is completely sheltered, out of the wind, a comfortable place to be. And part of the fish pond is still there with goldfish.
"The whole house has that restful feeling, it really does feel like a sanctuary."
The family loves being so close to the beach.
"The kids have done surf club, all the way through from nippers. It is pretty easy to go for a swim, we don't have to plan. We don't even need to take a towel. We make use of it all the time."
The house is designed so the master bedroom, living room, kitchen and dining room and music room are at the seafront end.
"The music room is home to our 110 Bechstein grand piano; we are all musicians. It is great place to relax; like a conservatory because there is so much glass."
Further back are the children's bedrooms and another lounge.
The master bedroom and dining room have ranch sliders opening to the courtyard. The lounge, kitchen and children's lounge have doors to the outside.
"When my dad had the house designed, he thought he was losing his sight, so part of the brief was to make it easy to navigate around the house.
"We like the single-level living, it is so easy to move around. And having big Douglas fir beams throughout the house, it has a feeling of light and space, straight lines."
Now that their youngest is 13, they are selling. "It's time to look for new adventures," says John. The family may return to Europe but are giving themselves time to consider options. "We are looking at opportunities, nothing fixed or firm.
"Talking sentimentally, it would be lovely if someone fell in love with the architecture of the house and wanted to keep it the way it is. We have all the original designs on paper.
"But in the end, where it is, you could build up very easily because it is all concrete block construction and crisscrossed by giant beams.
"And it is a big flat section. If you are standing on the roof, the view is spectacular."
He can't resist linking the sale to his performances.
