Take a breath and dive in

29a Aldred Rd, Remuera. Photo: Fiona Goodall/Getty Images

29A ALDRED RD REMUERA

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SIZE: Land 1166sq m, house 355sq m plus balcony and decks.

PRICE INDICATION: $5 million-plus.

INSPECT: Sat/Sun 3-3.30pm.

AUCTION: August 19.

ON THE WEB: barfoot.co.nz/549916

SCHOOL ZONES: Victoria Avenue Primary, Remuera Intermediate, Epsom Girls' Grammar and Auckland Grammar.

CONTACT: Alex Baker, Barfoot & Thompson, ph 0274 579 805.

Rebuilt in a contemporary style with a nod to its 1960s origins, this house is a model of discretion. The low-key location has always asserted its privacy from street view but this new incarnation has taken that to another level.

Far from showing off its assets in one hit, this home has been redesigned from top to toe with the element of mystique setting the tone at the front gate. At first view, there's a seductive glimpse down the entry path to the front door and the screens that flank the house along one side in the embrace of the curved wall opposite.

This filtered view into the property is a light counterpoint to the solid body of the house and the stack bonded bricks that add a strong vertical element.

This is the south side of the house and what is clear from the view further down the drive is that the living areas overlooking the grounds are where all the great north-facing views across to North Head come into play.

This is a little of how it was when the original house was built, although its compartmentalised living areas with high doors and central fireplace beneath heavy cedar beams did chop up the visual connections with the outdoors.

When Peter and Sarndra Turner checked out this property's development potential last year, they weren't planning to do much more than redecorate it for resale.

Peter's previous development experience had never included a home of this era so he enlisted the expertise of architect Hamish Monk (of Monk MacKenzie). Hamish offered various options but it was the design for this almost completely rebuilt split-level home with 130sq m of outdoor living around the pool that most appealed to Peter.

Says Hamish: "I liked the idea of creating a sense of stealth, at the same time opening the house up to the views to the north and giving it a sleek, modern presence. It is about having all the bells and whistles that you'd get in a high-end house, but not all on display at once."

At the entry point, the exterior aluminium brise soleil enhances the privacy of the two bedrooms as well as filtering sunlight and fresh air as needed. That same concept flanks the eastern and western sides of the living areas alongside the 25sq m cantilevered balcony overlooking the garden.

The strong vertical/horizontal modular form of those panels is complemented by the vertical negative detail on the weatherboard cladding.

"That strict grid is part of the beauty of it all working together as part of a common language," says Hamish. "We didn't want to have too many materials or architectural treatments on the outside to maintain clean lines."

In the living area Sarndra, an interior designer, specified light oak flooring and a floating, tiled, concrete-look hearth beneath the gas fireplace. In the kitchen, she has incorporated black engineered stone and black granite into the worktops. She gave each of the two powder rooms and four en suite bathrooms their own point of difference by specifying different materials, from black granite and frosted glass to white Corian. In the master en suite, she specified a frosted glass door by the toilet for privacy. Downstairs, she's given the wine cellar and the study off the second poolside living area their own identity with eye-catching wallpapers from Europe. They complement a palette she describes as "soft neutral" to suit this home's new place in the modern era.