Kaimai views, privacy, and a rural feel -- Allan McFall and Karen Anderson reckoned they'd found the best section in Tauranga when they walked onto this 3253sq m site at Pyes Pa.
The bonus was it being at the end of a cul de sac so there was minimal traffic, and they could picture their children riding their bikes up and down.
Freeburn Park at Pyes Pa is a lifestyle enclave with lots of trees enhancing the properties, and although it's right on the city fringe, it has a secluded, laid-back vibe.
Allan and Karen signed the contract and started the process of designing the perfect family home.
"We went through an open home at a house designed by Ambienti Architects of Tauranga and we really liked it, so we adopted that design," Allan says.
"We decided to put it together in two stages, a family home to start with, and then a separate entertaining area."
Stage one comprised an open-plan living space with kitchen, dining and lounge area, and a separate lounge through double glass doors. There's an office and guest bathroom alongside the entrance hall, the master suite and four further bedrooms, as well as a family bathroom. The open plan living area is a great gathering space.
Alan loves the state-of-the-art kitchen because it's not too big and everything is within easy reach. He cooks for guests, while Karen does most of the family cooking. An induction hob, lots of bench space and an island make it a favourite space.
The interior of the house was designed mainly by Karen, to achieve a look that was light, open, casual, simple, spacious and timeless.
"We wanted people not to be able to tell whether it was built yesterday or 20 years ago,"
They have achieved this by using white throughout most of the house, including on the pitched ceilings and exposed beams.
A contrast is provided by jarrah floors in the living areas, and timber shutters on the high windows around the lounge. The master suite has slightly warmer tones with taupe carpet and walls and drapes in a warm off-white.
Image 1 of 9: A slow and steady approach to designing the perfect family home has created a light, open, and spacious property. Photos / Supplied
When stage one of the build was completed, Allan and Karen added the 'pool house'.
Connected to the house by a covered walkway, it's a pool house in name only, providing a multi-functional space for formal parties, weddings, teenage get-togethers and as extra accommodation.
There's a spacious main room, a kitchen, bedroom and bathroom.
There have been weddings with 100 guests in there, and it provided self-contained accommodation for Karen's father for a few months.
Polished concrete floors make it easy care but Karen has not forsaken form for function - again the colour palette is based on white, the furnishings are in tones of pale grey and black, and the dining chairs are in various lolly shades like pink, blue and orange.
She bought the chandeliers in Rotorua and worried for weeks that they might not suit it, but they do.
A fireplace keeps the chill away in winter, and the glass stackers allow it to open up to the pool in the warmer months.
If swimming in the inground pool doesn't appeal, there's a half basketball court behind the pool house.
The gardens have been kept deliberately simple - their brief to the landscape designer was the ubiquitous 'stunning, but low maintenance'.
Well known Tauranga landscaper Michelle McDonnell, who had been Allan and Karen's neighbour in Te Awamutu, achieved it with a formal garden that perfectly suits the clean, simple lines of the buildings.
The standouts are a feature espalier alongside the carport area, manicured lawns, clipped hedges and a number of quirky topiaries, including an ivy heart.
Allan and Karen are taking on a new project now - an old house on the beachfront that requires a new lease of life and their special touch.
