One of the more interesting conversations around housing these days is how to accommodate multiple generations in the same family - downsizing baby-boomers who want to stay in their neighbourhood, young families who are challenged by both time and money to get their own home, or families who would liketo be closer together.
Sandra and Edwin Rainey were 20 years ahead of that thinking when they joined with Sandra's parents to buy a pair of houses on a spreading site on the edge of the water on Beach Haven's Sunset Bay.
"Dad had always wanted to live by the water, he's a sailor," says Sandra. "We've always lived on the Shore since we were married and were happy where we were.
"But dad found this place on the water, built by a guy who'd added a second house for his mother. At that stage we had kids 7, 5 and 2, I was pregnant with our youngest. It made sense."
"Lots of Maori, Pacific Island and Asian families traditionally live together with grandparents and kids," says Edwin. "I think more Kiwis will see that example and think it's a good idea."
When the Raineys bought the property, the houses were not-so-glowing examples of the 1970s, all spanish arches and purple shag-pile, with a couple of scrubby pine trees blocking the view of the upper harbour and Hobsonville Landing.
The smaller of the two dwellings was a fairly basic box, but with Edwin in the building trade and his father-in-law an engineer, turning the two homes into a family compound was a creative challenge they enjoyed together.
Building a jetty was the first project on the list, as once the consents expired they would never be able to build on the shoreline.
This snowballed into a landscaping makeover, as the pair carved path and steps down to the jetty, adding planting and sweeping garden beds around the edge of the lawn.
While the two houses had terrific upper floor decks overlooking the view, there was no access to the garden, and nothing charming about the ground floor concrete patios.
Over the years Edwin added a spiral staircase to connect upper and lower outdoor living terraces, pushed out decks for expansive entertaining areas for the younger generation and created a private paved dining area for the parents' house.
There was room for a vege garden and a spa pool. The kids sweetly upgraded a bar for Sharon's significant birthday party, and the house has been perfect for 21sts and garden parties, too.
The idea of multi-generational living fulfilled its promise: the kids could rock over to their grandparents for afternoon tea (and Grandpa's expertise for the maths homework), and as her father got ill Sandra was able to help her mother care for him at home until he died.
But with her mother now settled in a retirement village in Warkworth, and three of their four children gone, Sandra and Edwin are selling up to spend more time up at the beach. Not without regrets.
"The kids lived on the water, with their kayaks, jumping off the jetty, all that," says Edwin.
"We'd sometimes bring the boat down from the beach and could explore the harbour.
We're watching developments on the Hobsonville Wharf; when it's finished we could've got there by boat."
While the two houses share a common stucco finish and steel railings on the balcony, the two families chose distinct layouts.
Sandra's elderly parents elected to switch out ground floor bedrooms to the upper floor, giving them flat access from kitchen to garden and decks, and internal access from their single garage.
A spacious laundry has a shower and plenty of room for a helper, plus a separate toilet.
For a while a nook off the living room even had a bed, making for accessible living.
Upstairs are three good-sized bedrooms - two with balconies and sea views, the master with a good-sized walk in closet, and another bathroom.
The bonus room is a sweet sewing room with a sea view: when Sandra ran her dance school her mother made hundreds of costumes for the performers, and the two houses share an enormous walk-in room where the glitter and tulle numbers are stored.
In the larger house, Edwin and Sandra kept the living upstairs to make the most of the views.
Edwin did a lot of the renovation work, installing warm wood floors in a fine grained aqua, a hardwood with a golden colour, updating the kitchen with a bar server, stainless steel appliances and a huge pantry.
The larger of the two bedrooms was carved into two separate rooms for their daughters, and there's a big tiled family bathroom on this floor.
The ground floor bedrooms both have doors to the deck and more sea views - one is the master, the other grabbed by each younger child as the older ones left home.
Early on, the Rainey's rearranged the entrance to provide a better front door, and re-did the laundry by the back door to fit in a shower and toilet, ideal for muddy post-sport clean ups.
The double garage was converted to a rumpus room, with another sewing room for Sandra and her daughters.
The covered carport was big enough for table tennis, sports gear and a covered washing line.
The couple were careful to squeeze in plenty of storage (including a costume room).
But it is the seaside location that first won over Sandra's dad that they will miss most.
The sunsets are gorgeous over the water, the outdoor living always attracted a crowd and the nearness to parks and the ferry to the city will be hard to leave.
