SCHOOL ZONES:
Westmere School, Pasadena Intermediate, Western Springs College.
CONTACT:
John Wills and Nic Blackie, Custom Residential, ph 360 4861 or 021 333 053 (John) or 021 505 964 (Nic).
Wayne and Rebecca Chapman's Westmere home should be known as the House of Surprises. The first surprise is the location. Garnet Rd is a main thoroughfare in the central suburb but at the very end is a quiet no-exit stretch, where the Chapmans live.
"A lot of people drive past and don't realise that this part is here -- it's a bit of a hidden pocket," says Rebecca.
The fact the house is only a couple of minutes' stroll to Waitemata Harbour also comes as a surprise to some people. When the tide is out you can go for a long walk along the shore, and when it's in, the end of the road is the perfect spot to launch a kayak.
Then there is the house. From the outside it looks like a typical Californian bungalow, albeit with an extra level on top. From the minute you walk in the front door, it's evident that it is much bigger than anticipated.
"It is a bit of a Tardis," says Rebecca. "Even the hallway is a lot wider and longer than you'd expect."
Perhaps the biggest surprise comes with the layout. When previous owners added another storey, they knocked convention on the head by moving the kitchen, dining and living areas up there.
"It makes a lot of sense, because you get great views of the harbour from upstairs," says Rebecca. "A lot of our neighbours have built on top as well, but they've put bedrooms upstairs. When they've seen our place, they say, 'What a good idea'."
The open-plan upper level's living areas are at each end with the dining space and kitchen in the middle. The kitchen is a generous size, with an extra-long granite bench and plenty of storage. There's also a powder room up here (and another in the garage).
This part of the house gets sun all day and offers a ringside seat to spectacular sunsets.
"We've just come back from Fiji, where I spent two weeks trying to get the perfect picture of a sunset, but we actually get to enjoy better ones at home all the time."
Downstairs, previous owners further extended the house by adding two rooms on to the back. Wayne and Rebecca use one as a games room -- Wayne was delighted it fits a pool table -- and the other as a gym. Both rooms open to a covered deck and the landscaped back garden.
In the original part of the house, leadlight windows and Art Deco architraves give the building lots of character. There are four bedrooms, including the master, which has a spacious walk-through wardrobe and an en suite that is the size of many family bathrooms.
The main bathroom is even larger, and extremely light thanks to a generous skylight. "It's lovely lying in the bath and looking at the stars."
It's a warm house, thanks to central heating, underfloor heating in the bathrooms and heap pumps. There is also plenty of storage.
Image 1 of 11: 100914 HERALD HOMES 190 Garnet Rd, Westmere home of Rebecca Chapman. Photo: Fiona Goodall/Getty Images
Rebecca and Wayne bought the house five years ago because they loved its location close to the city, the views from upstairs and that they didn't need to do anything to it.
They quickly came to appreciate being just a stone's throw from the Garnet Rd shops and cafes, which include Meola Kitchen, Catroux and the Garnet Rd Food Store.
But they've now bought a hectare of land on Auckland's outskirts and look forward to a lifestyle change.
"It's something we really wanted to do, but I have mixed feelings about leaving this house," says Rebecca. "It's got so much going for it."
