The Millars built this Langs Beach home capturing sea and bush views to be a family-friendly escape that is an easy walk from the beach for little feet.
Dad in the family is importer Bruce Millar, who got to know the simple seaside delights of Langs Beach himself as a whippersnapper.
He says, "My family holidayed at Langs for two weeks in January every summer holidays when I was growing up. It's where I learned to fish off the rocks, climb the pohutukawa trees along the beach and look for crabs in the rock pools."
So Langs was a natural choice when Aucklanders Bruce and wife Annita wanted their own holiday home seven years ago. This site in Taranga Rd offered the bonus of sea views out front and bush views to its west.
Bruce says: "And very importantly, it was ideal for us as a family because our three children were quite young at the time and it was an easy walk to the beach."
Children Craig (14), Ella (13) and Troy (10) loved the fact they could stroll to the beach with their gear in only two or three minutes.
The Millars had this contemporary plyboard and batten home designed and built for them in 2009; choosing the cladding and long-run roof and aluminium joinery for hardiness near the sea.
Bruce says: "Because it gets great sea views out the front we had them make the front deck as large as possible, so it's a really good-sized area which extends the inside living space. We often sit out there or entertain out there with the kids running around too."
Their front view takes in the sea, the Hen and Chicken Islands and Sail Rock.
Image 1 of 6: Family had home designed and built to pass on the joys of beach holidays.
"There's always something to look at, with people out there boating, fishing and stand-up paddle-boarding. And sometimes you'll see dolphins or even a pod of orcas."
The property also looks out on its left-hand-side to attractive bush where wood pigeons flap about.
Bruce says: "There's a little creek down there and we can see the kids from the house if they're playing there, going eeling.
"Having the bush and the sea outlook makes it feel especially tranquil here; it's the sort of place you can forget about work and everything else. And it only takes us an hour twenty to get here from our place on the North Shore."
The house comes with low-maintenance landscaping, a single garage and laundry underneath plus an open carport set-up alongside under the deck. It is designed for simple relaxed beachy living so can suit a holiday home or something more permanent.
Upstairs the open-plan living-dining-kitchen with dishwasher flows out to the expansive deck where freshly caught snapper or crayfish sometimes appear on the menu.
The master bedroom with its little en suite captures the sea view and there are two more bedrooms and a family bathroom.
Bruce thinks part of the reason Langs Beach has retained its charm is that its zoning prevents shops and other commercial operations.
"So it's got that lovely old-school feeling around here -- but you can easily pop down to Waipu if you want a coffee or something from the shop," he says.
He's loved watching their children grow up enjoying the same beachy pursuits he did as a child, and all three have now graduated from boogie-boarding to surfing here.
The Millar family will continue holidaying at Langs but have fallen for another local property so are selling Number 22.
