SCHOOL ZONES:
Matakana Primary, Mahurangi College.
CONTACT:
Jenni Marsh, 021 717 719, or Richard Turner, 021 332 233, Bayleys.
SET DATE OF SALE:
March 30.
With a family history of holidays at Omaha, Leyton Perris couldn't resist buying a section there when he returned from London on holiday.
Leyton, who has enjoyed a career in energy markets and financial services, was back for Christmas in 2007 when he spied a corner section in Kokopu St for sale and bought it in the New Year, holding on to it until he could afford to build.
In 2011, after moving to New York, he was ready to begin the design process and got in touch with an old skiing buddy -- Gavin Donaldson, of NEU Architecture, to whom he had talked previously about working on a project.
"I had some good ideas and he had some good ideas," says Leyton. "But his good ideas were better than mine."
Leyton's brief to Gavin was that he wanted privacy, open-plan living, a home theatre, indoor-outdoor entertaining and bedrooms with en suites and built-in wardrobes, including a luxury master suite. "I wanted it so that you could come to stay and have guests and everyone could set up in their own rooms and unwind," he says.
"We wanted to break new ground on the indoor-outdoor flow and create a truly seamless flow between the master living and the courtyard -- not just in the saying but in the actual 'doing'. A lot of thought and effort went into optimising the flow, including visual modelling/rendering of the plans prior to submission."
As well as a high-end audio-visual network, the home also boasts a top-notch automation system courtesy of Lab Cubed.
With Leyton in New York during the design and build process he spent a lot of time going through the design with Gavin via email, phone calls and Skype. And those were the primary means of communication with Matthew Duff, of Mint Builders, when the build started in January 2012.
Image 1 of 7: High-tech automation takes this pad to new heights in design suavity
"On the occasions I did return to New Zealand, Matt and Gavin made absolutely sure that we used the time effectively; bathroom fit-outs, kitchen [Morgan Cronin], floorings, joinery etc were all accomplished in a high-intensity set of meetings in a condensed timeframe," says Leyton.
"[There was] little time for second guessing and changing -- I took the advice of those who were invested in the build -- as I was -- like gospel. The entire team involved in the process was genuinely proud to contribute to and devoted to a world-class product and that was evident throughout -- they challenged my ideas and brought many of their own -- my experience and exposure was limited so I appreciated and took on board all the input I could."
The U-shaped home creates -- and opens to -- a sheltered inner courtyard with built-in barbecue, decking, lawn and pool. Stacking sliding doors open the games room on one side and the living area on the other out to the courtyard. Three bedrooms with en suites are arranged between these two wings.
Sleek lines are a signature of the design and these are evident in the elegant kitchen, which has a central island. French oak panelling on some of the walls with the look of materials such as polished concrete floors.
From the kitchen you move through the dining area to a living area that has a conversation pit arranged around a big-screen HD TV. "The living area doubles as a full 3D theatre at the touch of a button, with multi-zone audio to the outside for music streaming when entertaining," says Leyton.
He says the home has been perfect for entertaining friends and family but he is now selling to pursue another project.
