It was just a little two-bedroom property when they bought it all those years ago, after a search of Auckland led them to Birkenhead.
They were looking for greenery and space to expand and over the years the two bedrooms evolved into a large family home.
The house now has five bedrooms, multiple living spaces, and exciting nooks and crannies (including a secret room in Adrian's office) that Paul and his brother and sister used to love to play hide and seek in.
Adrian is a photographer by trade and a woodworker by love and did much of the interior wood craft, working from his formidable man cave under the house with a lathe and all manner of other equipment.
He spent months working on the parquet staircase that sweeps up to the lounge, the wood burner roaring to warm against the winter chill, and he also made the copper cover designed to keep the smoke out of the room.
Paul says his parents are perfectionists, but the family believes Adrian's love of family and home stems from his time in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp when he was a boy in Sumatra.
Adrian, who loves native woods, has added many touches to the house, from the balustrades to the beautiful cabinets built into the structure of the house so they blend into the spaces and don't get in the way.
Paula says: "It's a lovely home, we've all loved it here. It's an oasis here, isn't it?" Adrian replies that he is sad to leave but Paula twisted his arm.
"He's put so much into it," she says. "We've both put so much into it and it's been a happy house."
Stairs from the lounge lead to a sunny, light master bedroom that overlooks the pool and gazebo. There are a series of other bedrooms and a big studio apartment that was the photographic studio and still has its high ceiling painted black, though the space is another lounge now.
A wooden spiral staircase tucked in the corner leads to yet another bedroom.
Through other doors off the lounge is another living area and the macrocarpa kitchen, again with cabinetry Adrian made to suit the spaces.
One of the attractions of the house is the many doors leading from room to room, giving the option of closing parts of the house into separate areas, though this close family tended to stay together.
It's an easy walk through the bush to Little Shoal Bay or to nearby shops and cafes, and an easy commute to town.
Ideally, the Lemmens would love to see another family enjoy their home, but it also lends itself to a home and business, or a bed and breakfast.
When the house does sell, there will be tears all around but Adrian and Paula are keen sailors and may move to Gulf Harbour where they have their boat.
