SCHOOL ZONES:
Coatesville School, Albany High School
CONTACT:
Miles Wallace, Harcourts, 021 565 601
The couple, then living in Wellington, had already decided to move their business to Auckland and had come up for a trade show on a busy weekend. When they couldn't find accommodation in the city, they headed out to Coatesville.
"And because we were there we walked into a real estate agent just to have a look," Jenny says. "When we saw this piece of land we thought 'this is it'. It was the privacy and the whole peaceful, rural feel of the place."
There was nothing more than a bit of native bush on the 2.5ha site when they bought it but they had a vision of the house they could build and what they could do with the land.
With two outdoorsy sons and a daughter, a spacious family home with great indoor-outdoor living was their brief to themselves -- and top of the wish list was making sure their new home got full benefit of the sun.
"We are very particular about sunlight so we went to the local council and got all the sun angles for the property from them so we could make sure the sun came into certain rooms at certain times of the year. It was important that all the main rooms -- living and bedrooms -- be facing north, and that everything opened up to the patio area."
This requirement made the design of the house relatively simple, and Jenny believes that is why it works so well as a family home and for entertaining.
She based much of her interior design on the house she and Trevor had built in Wellington, and used similar colours. She has ignored the trend to a largely monochromatic palette and painted the living areas the colour of whipped butter -- the perfect backdrop to the two grand pianos that take pride of place in the house.
The home offers a mix of elegance and comfort with a big, open-plan kitchen, dining and family area adjoining a formal dining room and lounge. There is a well-stocked library and four bedrooms including the master suite.
Jenny and Trevor helped design the garden and started the process with plans from a landscape architect. However, they deviated from these quite a lot, Trevor admitting that as a product designer in his own lighting company, "I couldn't keep my mitts off it".
With the help of local landscaper Kevin Straka, the block was re-contoured to provide a lake, lawns, a tennis court, a pool and formal gardens.
"We had a 50m lawn to start with and like most projects it got bigger and bigger," Trevor says.
He and Jenny are both delighted with the lawns, which are sown in a variety of couch grass called AgriDark. It has a low water requirement and looks its brilliant best in December and January.
Jenny wanted a beautiful garden she wouldn't have to work in all the time and her decision to follow a formal theme proved sensible.
"I think a formal garden like this is easier to look after than a casual, natural design. We block-planted agapanthus, hebes and grasses so really the only work now is deadheading."
Image 1 of 12: Gardeners and sports-mad kids alike will relish the space of this luxurious family home
The children, now grown up and away from home, took full advantage of the outdoor living options and there were often as many as 20 young people using the pool or playing soccer on the tennis court.
Jenny reiterates that the outdoor living spaces have been one of the best aspects of living here.
"We've loved that, as well as the privacy and the outlook. I never ever get tired of standing at the window and looking out."
