Santa Fe at the poolside

277 Beach Rd, Campbells Bay. Photo / Ted Baghurst

277 BEACH RD, CAMPBELLS BAY

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2*

SIZE: Land 997sq m, house 270sq m.

PRICE INDICATION: Interest expected above CV $1.4 million. Expressions of interest close August 7.

INSPECT: Sunday 1pm-1.30pm.

ON THE WEB: premium.co.nz/TAK8672

SCHOOL ZONES: Campbells Bay School, Murrays Bay Intermediate, Westlake Boys' and Westlake Girls' High Schools.

CONTACT: Jelena Freeman, Premium, ph 021 656 563.

FEATURES: *double carport. North-facing, solid masonry Californian Santa Fe-style home with pool. Lanai-style conservatory with polished concrete floor.

David Templeman says the story of how he and his wife, Sue, came to live in this renovated 1970s Spanish-style home in Campbells Bay begins more than 35 years ago, when they moved from the UK to New Zealand with their children, Kate, then 4, and Jonathan, 1.

The couple's "spirit of adventure" led them to leave their first home, a three-storey terrace house in North Cheshire, to move to a rented townhouse in Birkenhead.

From there, David built a Lockwood home in Torbay and, in the many years since, the Templemans have also lived in Rarotonga, Fiji, Singapore and Whangarei. David has always worked in the construction industry and Sue's expertise is in interior design. With their experience of different homes and their professional vocations, the couple recognise what appeals in a home - places which appeal architecturally and spatially "without being flamboyant, but are meaningful". David and Sue love art, with semi-retired David painting in his spare time.

The Templemans were living nearby in Red Bluff Rise when they came across this home up a right-of-way nearly seven years ago. The house was designed by Gillespie, Newman, West and Pearce in 1972, and was described as being "Californian Santa Fe" in style. The Californian-Spanish influence could be seen in its plasterwork, arches and decorative ironwork.

David says he and Sue weren't looking for a Spanish-style design, "but there was something about this house that spoke of the spirit of Spain," he recalls.

Seeking to retain the home's character in their renovation, the Templemans resisted removing the archways and swirled plasterwork, but did soften some of the plaster's ridges and painted it a fresh white.

At the centre of the U-shaped layout is a conservatory, which David says was designed by landscape architect Ted Smyth around the time the house was built. The couple removed some of the existing brickwork and added further glazing to the conservatory to improve the sightline of the pool from the home's arched front entrance.

"The relationship to the pool was most important."

Keeping the integrity of the design intact, they simplified the space by removing plants and adding a concrete floor.

Outside, a focal point across the pool is a stainless steel sculpture designed by Smyth.

It looks custom-designed for the space but, in fact, was acquired from a clifftop home nearby. David and Sue redid all the landscaping, bringing in a mini-bulldozer. They put in access from the kitchen to the poolside via a subtropical garden and boardwalk over the lawn, past David's shed, to connect with decking around the distinctively shaped pool.

The house's western wing, with a stained-glass clerestory window along its length, contains the three bedrooms, with the master bedroom and new en suite at the end. There is a new, family bathroom and separate toilet at the beginning of the wing.

Split-level living and dining is across the pool, in the eastern wing.

David uses the secondary living space as his office. From there, steps lead up to a lookout tower with sea views.

Though the house has heat pumps and ceiling insulation, a focal point of the living room is a woodburner. A charming 1970s feature in the wall between the dining area and the decade-old granite kitchen has been retained by the Templemans - a terracotta-pipe wine rack.

All the spaces in the house feel just right.

"That's a feature of this house which struck us when we first saw it," David recalls.

"All the spaces and their relationship to each other appeared to work well. And they have."