SCHOOL ZONES:
Remuera Primary, Remuera Intermediate, double grammar.
CONTACT:
Paul Sissons, Bayleys, 0274 325 220.
AUCTION:
September 17.
Designed to settle into the contours of a former terraced garden, this house exudes all the charm of a fairy tale as it playfully winds its way up, down and around its picturesque vantage points.
Architect Terry Hitchcock designed this house, built in 1986 on a large tract of land that was subdivided into several plots behind the original street-front mansion.
On this comparatively narrow strip of land overlooking a wooded gully, he has fashioned a house that maximises the sunshine and the fall of the land with all paths leading to the in-ground pool.
Outside, the Canadian cedar shingle-cladding has aged to a silvery hue. Inside, the golden Fijian kauri joinery and tongue and groove ceilings exude warmth alongside the earthy tones of the slate flooring and solid-concrete plastered walls with their strategically placed voids for natural light.
This home's intriguing design and its sense of permanence in this established neighbourhood is much appreciated by Sue Younger and her husband, Dwayne Crombie, a health sector manager, who moved here with their two children in 2000. Of the architect, Sue says, "He had a very difficult site to deal with but he has made a virtue of it."
The mono-pitched rooflines of the two shingle-clad single garages, the wisteria-draped pergola and the crazy paving pathway are the first view into this property. The house itself unfolds past the rock pool that was on the original property, and to which Sue and Dwayne have added an elegant water feature.
Image 1 of 5: This playful home creates interest with height and light, making a virtue of its site
On the opposite side by the pool, there's a summer house that was part of the original, too. Says Sue, "I can just imagine a lady walking down to the garden and just sitting here in the sun."
It's her reference to an era far more formal than how she sees modern life in this home. "It's beautiful and it's elegant. It's luxurious but it's not formal and I love that combination."
An abundance of high walls for their art has added personality. So too has a design that has all of the living areas opening directly off the large entrance with stairs down to the home theatre and guest wing. To the left on the entry level, the timber and stainless kitchen looks out to the tropical garden and pool with the adjacent casual living and dining area oriented to the large deck. Off the kitchen is a separate dining area, en route to the library that is a favourite winter spot with its low ceiling, central fireplace and doors to the garden.
There are doors opening everywhere around this house. Sue confirms 13 in total and they give every room its own view of the trees and native birdlife as well as extra summer ventilation.
In the winter, five heat pumps and underfloor heating moderate the temperature.
A children's/guest wing has three bedrooms, all with access to the pool deck and two with mezzanine study areas. The parents' wing can be closed off entirely and it includes a bedroom, en suite and study, where Sue, a former documentary maker, penned her first novel (published last year).
Looking down into the family area through the glazed void, she says: "What I love about this is that it is the control tower for the whole house."
Sue has to relinquish that kind of control now as she and her husband relocate to Australia, where their children are now based.
There is much she will miss about this house. "I don't know if we're ever going to find somewhere as good as this to hang our art," she says.
