SCHOOL ZONES:
Westmere School, Western
Springs College.
CONTACT:
Blair Haddow, Bayleys, ph 021 544
555.
FEATURES:
Architecturally designed coastal
home with generous living areas upstairs and
down, both with gas fires. Sheltered central
deck flows to lawn and waterfront.
When you see the bold form of this home for the first time, it's hard to think of it as a discreet residence.
But even when you reach the end of Garnet Rd it is hardly visible as it is tucked away in a sheltered, private spot fringed with trees at the end of a concrete driveway that runs parallel with the waterfront.
It's only when you reach the end of this driveway, with river stones down the middle and bollards on the seaward side, that the property opens up before you.
It's an odd-shaped site - subdivided from the rear of the street-facing property to the south - but one that has wide harbour views and a north-facing aspect.
As the owner recalls, when the section went up for sale the pressure went on her and her partner to buy it. "We were told by one of the children that we had to buy it; that we wouldn't get a chance like it again," she says. "And that's why we came over this side of town because all the children had shifted over here."
John Austin, of Jasmax, was called to design a home that would provide relaxed waterfront living.
The concrete block and cedar home has nautical elements, and its facade is dominated by a louvred canopy that extends over a cantilevered deck that appears to float on the lawn. The louvres are electrically controlled and can be adjusted to shut out or allow in the sun. Downstairs living spaces wrap around this deck. The kitchen and dining are on the eastern side and a formal lounge with gas fire is to the west.
Floor-to-ceiling glass allows unimpeded views of the harbour, and water laps at the property's concrete wall at high tide. A council-owned slipway sits on the eastern boundary.
At the rear of the ground floor is an office that could also be a bedroom, and another room is used as a bedroom but was intended to be a media room. Both have bathrooms.
Wood panelling and cabinets are prominent throughout the downstairs living spaces and the kitchen, which has a slot window over the sink for sea views.
The home was finished in February 2000 and has been a delight to live in since day one. "The first morning we woke up in the home there were hot air balloons coming across the water and it was just magic," the owner says.
At the western end of the house lies the internal access double garage with a skylight at one end where a work bench was supposed to sit.
Upstairs there are two more bedrooms, each with their own bathrooms, separated by a glazed gallery with dazzling harbour views.
The bedroom at the western end of the house has a glazed wall looking out to its own lounge with gas fire. Off this lounge is a large, paved terrace with a Mediterranean feel - ideal for entertaining and enjoying the sea views.
Image 1 of 7: 233 Garnet Rd, Westmere.
The master bedroom at the opposite end of the house has its own balcony where you cannot only admire the views but also the curves and craftsmanship of the home.
"When the tide is in, standing on this balcony you do feel like you are on the prow of a boat," the owner says.
Proximity to the water is something the family has treasured over the years.
"I have the grandchildren swimming out there and it is very clean and very safe, too."
