CONTACT:
Cherry Cooper, Barfoot & Thompson,
ph (09) 298 8029 or 021 955 141. *(150sq m), plus 90sq m barn.
Shane Vickery loves that he can drive from his Karaka home to central Auckland faster than a friend who lives at Half Moon Bay.
"It's the perfect spot," he says. "We're just three minutes from the motorway and Auckland is so close, yet so far away."
He and his wife, Maree, bought their land at Karaka 27 years ago when they were newly married.
"We wanted something a bit grand and special in the style of a manor house," Shane says, "so we got a whole lot of English books and selected the look we wanted. Then we took our ideas to an architect."
They were determined to build something that would work for them when they had a family, so the house was large.
"It was considered really big back then when houses were typically smaller, but it doesn't seem quite so large now," he says.
Four years ago, when their children were teenagers, the couple completely refurbished the house.
"We thought that since we loved it so much we'd make it brand, spanking new again, and adapt it to suit the family. We moved out while the renovations and extensions were done and the tradespeople took ownership of the project. They took enormous pride in it and made a fantastic job. Now the house works for us with teens and one adult son, and it would also work for a young family, or for an older family with grandchildren."
He's especially fond of the warmth the house generates in visual and practical terms. The large entry foyer is laid in Australian hardwood flooring, and leads into a formal lounge of which the focal point is a hand-carved, Oamaru stone fireplace.
The spacious dining area is large enough for big groups, and there's a private lounge at one end for the teenagers. The kitchen, with its granite bench tops and servery to the outdoor living area, also has an adjacent butler's pantry.
There are four bedrooms, including a separate guest suite downstairs, three bathrooms, and the upstairs master bedroom has an en suite with a double shower. The high-pitched ceilings in the upstairs bedrooms create interesting angles that enhance the English manor style.
Because Shane and Maree enjoy the outdoors, the house has been designed with outdoor living spaces on almost every side.
"You can have breakfast outside the foyer area in the early morning sun, then move to the under-cover lounge area by the spa for morning tea with the paper, then through the bifolds and out the other side for lunch and dinner," Shane says.
He has worked from home for the past few years, which explains why the house has a 10-car garage.
"I've been a car dealer for 30 years, and it was always my intention that when I was semi-retired I'd work from home," he says.
Image 1 of 10: 243 Linwood Road, Karaka.
The property has also served Maree's passion well, with space for the American miniature horses she's bred for 15 years. A new foal has just been born.
When they move to the land they own next door, the garage at the new property will be somewhat downsized as Shane winds back his workload. Other than that, they'll build something similar to the manor house, where they can enjoy plenty of space, a lovely garden and a resort lifestyle.
