SCHOOL ZONES:
Gulf Harbour Primary, Whangaparaoa College, Wentworth College.
CONTACT:
Karen Franklin, Harcourts, 021 779 838.
When Blair and Donna Taylor bought this home about 10 years ago, they didn't have to unpack a thing to help them slip into the Queenslander lifestyle vibe.
The two most important props, the children's tyre swing and a hammock, were waiting on the veranda, kindly left by the previous owner. This new family took the hint and ran with it, maximising every aspect of their estimated 250sq m of all-weather, covered transition spaces that extend almost around the entire house.
Beneath the sarked ceilings of these 3m to 4.5m-deep verandas, they've hung a second hammock and installed outdoor family dining accessible off the north side family room and the main lounge.
On the south side, in the lee of still more towering palms and colourful sub-tropicals, Blair and Donna have set up a late afternoon dining spot directly off their bedroom.
It's a most restful setting to toast the evening for Blair, a shipping administrator, and Donna, a home-based accountant. Come those rainy days when Anita (17) and Jamie (13) were youngsters, it was sheer delight as they'd race around on their bikes well sheltered from the weather.
The previous owner built this house in the late 1990s, adopting the Queenslander style. Living areas are above and verandas are around the base of the house to take account of the climate extremes.
The attention to detail is in the screwed, rather than nailed, panels of balustrades around the verandas, the macrocarpa for the architraves and the pitched, sarked ceilings in every room.
Spare parts left under the house include turned balusters, the pattern for the veranda fretwork and carefully labelled left-over paint.
Minimal exterior painting is required here. The exterior cladding is pre-finished Palliside boards that require only an occasional hose-down.
Image 1 of 6: Attention to detail in Queenslander is exquisite. Photo / Fiona Goodall / Getty Images
Inside the decor is off-white walls, off-white kitchen cabinetry, light-toned timber flooring, neutral carpet and rich timber sarking and beams.
Three bedrooms along the opposite side of the living areas open directly off the double-height hallway along with the main bathroom. This three-in-one facility has the vanity directly inside near two more doors, one of which opens to the toilet and the second leads into the room with the bath.
In 2002, the owner completed the gazebo, which houses the spa pool, taking care to give it the same complementary colonial profile as the house.
By 2009 Donna and Blair had completed the rest of the volcanic path to the lower level and put in an in-ground pool in what was previously the rear part of the lawn.
Extra volcanic rock completed the poolside fence and path and the rock waterfall that tumbles down the garden to the pool edge.
On the opposite side beneath shade-cloth strung up between the trees, is yet another outdoor seating area.
They've had numerous big occasions here, including Blair's 50th that was celebrated as a combined party after their wedding here six years ago. The house that came into their lives almost three years before that big event has rounded out their family life perfectly.
Donna's office is in what used to be the laundry off the garage.
In the basement there is scope for further development but this won't be for them to do.
