Pure form and function in Herne Bay

35 Marine Parade, Herne Bay. Photo / Ted Baghurst

35 MARINE PDE HERNE BAY

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SIZE: Land 1011sq m, house 350sq m.

PRICE INDICATION: CV $3.42 million. Auction March 15 at 1pm on site.

INSPECT: Sat/Sun 11-11.45am.

ON THE WEB: www.anneduncan.co.nz/AD12239

SCHOOL ZONES: Bayfield Primary School, Ponsonby Intermediate, Western Springs College, Auckland Girls' Grammar

CONTACT: Anne Duncan, Anne Duncan Team Advantage, ph 021 996 426.

FEATURES: Renovated 1948 brick home by modernist architect Albert Goldwater on the prime waterfront in Herne Bay. In two titles, it has a self-contained ground-floor teenage space (including kitchen) plus gracious formal living on first floor, with eat-in kitchen, decks and generous storage. Terraced garden leads to waterside deck with spa pool. Gated and secure.

When Diane Dodson and her former husband bought their striking waterfront house on Herne Bay's Marine Pde in 1989, it was divided into two flats and the neighbourhood was still a mix of arty student flats and old families.

The couple, then expecting their first child, were delighted at the original architectural details left in the 1948 house. University lecturer Albert Goldwater had designed the house for the Jaffe family and was clearly a man ahead of his time. The simple brick facade gives way at the back to dramatic Modernist-style curves for which Goldwater was known. He had, that same year, updated the Jewish synagogue in Bowen Ave in the city, and in the 60s designed the striking new synagogue in Greys Ave.

"When we renovated, we wanted to keep the style of the house, so we retained the footprint and layout of the rooms," explains Diane. "The extra-high stud and the coved ceiling with its special lighting still looks amazing today. We wanted to keep that nautical feeling going in the colours and curves."

The house is generously proportioned. A new kitchen, curved and lacquered in a soft duck-egg blue, continues the modernist theme. It was opened out to the living room and dining room so that the family could gaze through the picture windows to the sea. The living room on this upper floor is large enough for a grand piano to barely make a dent in the space. French doors open from the living room and next-door master bedroom on to the deck - curved to match the shape of the house. The master bedroom doors stay open most of the year so that Diane can enjoy the view and the sound of the sea lapping at the bottom of the lawn. A second bedroom doubles as a home office.

"This house is big enough for a party of 150 and you barely notice," points out Diane. "We sat 50 upstairs for my parents' 50th wedding anniversary, and the kids can all congregate downstairs." The couple bought the ground floor when Diane was expecting their son, now17. The property remains in two titles and the ground floor has hosted family members who love the navy and granite kitchen, the original parquet floors and access to the lawns and terraces to the sea. The original front porch, with its futuristic glass bricks, was enclosed and internal stairs built. A second smaller staircase off the back entrance gives Diane access to the huge laundry/mudrooms. The family are keen sailors, so cupboards contain heating and drying racks to dry the sailing gear year-round.

The kids' zone downstairs includes a bathroom and two bedrooms, plus a snug TV space. Glass doors slide back to reveal the deck and lawn. Gravel steps and paths lead down to a charming terrace, which hovers above one of Herne Bay's prettiest beaches. Complete with nautical rope balustrades and a spa pool, it is a favourite unwinding spot. But with her eldest daughter in London and her son finishing tertiary education, Diane is ready to leave the family home of 21 years and do a bit of travelling. She will miss her long-term neighbours, the mesmerising sea views and living so close to the city, but is looking forward to seeing the next family make their mark on this slice of mid-century style.