SCHOOL ZONES:
Bayfield Primary, Ponsonby Intermediate, Western Springs and Auckland Girls’ Grammar.
CONTACT:
Carl Madsen, Barfoot, 021 953 152.
One gets the impression that Jack Nazer is not a man who sits around. He started working in the automotive business in 1952, formed a company and from 1960 to 1978 was a saloon car champion, and then racing midgets champion.
Retirement hasn't stopped Jack; he keeps an immaculate 1935 Chrysler in his three-car garage and has moved a vintage Mercedes from his fourth garage/workshop while he hosts open homes.
Along the way he's designed a few houses for himself, wife Marilyn and their three daughters as well as commercial buildings. This latest home was a labour of love.
"I designed it myself, I just love architecture," says Jack. "I love angles. In school I won prizes for tech drawing but then I went into the motor trade. But I've always designed houses -- our house in the 1970s was the 'castle' of Mairangi Bay, it went right down to the water. But I didn't know about angles in those days."
Jack reckons it took him a year to design this house, starting with a blank sheet of paper, but it's evidently a pride and joy.
He's clearly a persistent person, since acquiring this piece of land, tucked on a former paper road at the bottom of Herne Bay's most expensive stretch of real estate, Cremorne St, required some complicated maneuvering.
He bought the land, which had been carved off the grounds of the huge villa on the corner of Stack St, in 1994 but couldn't start building until 1998.
An Alan Warwick 1960s house, twin to the one remaining on Stack St, was moved off the property and the Nazer's concrete block and pre-stressed concrete-beamed house went up.
Jack was involved in the build and has kept immaculate records of the house and its high-end fittings -- from the gold-plated chandelier in the dining room to more prosaic gas central heating, fireplace and water, sound and security systems; even the pump on the fish pond and trickling waterfall.
He has taken the precaution of having moisture testing done -- the south wing and second floor are timber framed and stucco plastered -- with the expert concluding that there was no issue on the structural integrity, but Jack still upgraded and installed some new flashing.
Jack's love of angles is evident through the whole house. The enormous garage and workshop is tucked slightly into the slope of the land, allowing an attractive meandering garden path up the rise to the ground floor entry and living areas.
Image 1 of 6: High-energy Jack Nazer designed and helped build his own home. But it's time to downsize.
The garden is an enticing mix of sub-tropicals, including a splendid 25-year-old cycad, and is completely quiet apart from the tranquil trickling of the water feature.
The living floor is wrapped around a grassed courtyard accessed by French doors from the lounge and billiard room and viewed via a huge picture window from the bedroom hallway.
The billiard room is clearly a favourite of Jack's, complete with a 19th century billiard table (which he hopes to sell with the house) and walls of memorabilia from his racing days.
A handy servery opens to the courtyard -- ideal for when the couple host huge family dinners, tables arranged on the lawn.
Two generous double bedrooms each have French doors opening to charming gardens, and there are two bathrooms and guest toilet.
As well as the garaging, the basement houses an enormous utility room (with handy laundry chutes from upper rooms), masses of storage and a 1700-bottle wine cave that makes the most of the cool insulation.
But it is in the kitchen and the upstairs master bedroom that Jack's famous love of angles comes into its own.
Cupboard doors open to Tardis-like spaces, making the most of corners.
The kitchen boasts one of the earliest double fridges from Whirlpool, together with a host of quality fittings, and the master suite upstairs has heaps of storage tucked inside closets and in the en suite.
A fourth bedroom is Jack's office, with a kitchenette tucked off to one side to save trekking downstairs to the kitchen.
Downstairs, the living room is a generous space with airy high ceilings and a balcony with room for entertaining.
Jack and Marilyn had no plans to sell this house, but the curious designer/builder was so intrigued by the new Vert apartments going up on the corner of Jervois Rd that after investigating they decided to buy one, hastening their plans to downsize.
Needless to say, every detail of the apartment block will be checked, scrutinised and admired by the energetic and intrepid Jack.
