SCHOOL ZONES:
St Thomas School, Glendowie College, Selwyn College
CONTACT:
Leila MacDonald, 021 928 926, or David MacDonald, 021 650 901, Barfoot & Thompson
AUCTION:
June 15
Tucked down from the road, Claire and Michael Gibson's home enjoys a spectacular and sheltered bush setting further enhanced by a grandstand outlook over their tennis court.
When they had the court resurfaced, a visitor exclaimed, "It's just like Flushing Meadows."
Though the venue for the US Open is somewhat bigger, the Gibson's floodlit tennis court is large enough to accommodate their children's cricket and soccer games courtesy of a roll-away net, as well as having a netball hoop and volley wall.
Claire, who is a competitive tennis player, says the court was resurfaced with quality Tiger Turf synthetic grass, which requires less sand -- a bonus considering all the sand had to be wheelbarrowed in.
As well as resurfacing and re-fencing the court, the Gibsons landscaped around it to define the area more and show off the mature trees including palms, pongas and cabbage trees, which are lit at night and underplanted with grasses and clivia.
The outdoors has been the major focus of their energies in the two and a half years they have owned the property, including re-tiling the saltwater swimming pool.
Indoors they have painted using the previous owners' neutral colour scheme, and replaced the kitchen.
Their home was designed by Miller Houston Architects and built in the mid-1980s. Devised to follow the slope of the site, the mainly masonry home is split-level and has a steeply pitched roof that creates interesting angles in the bedrooms and gallery-style hallways.
Down a right of way, the home has plentiful off-street parking outside the front entrance as well as internal-access double garaging.
On the northern side of the home, the living spaces open out to a balcony that spans this face and overlooks the pool and tennis court. From the carpeted formal lounge with open fire you step up to the kitchen/family room, which has timber floors.
Image 1 of 10: Resort-like property with a pool and tennis court has plenty of room for family. Photos / Ted Baghurst
Claire oversaw the redesign of the kitchen and had it made in China with quartz benchtops and Blum fittings that make the white cabinetry a seamless collection of cupboards, draws and overhead hatches with clever pull-outs and soft-close features.
Floral wallpaper behind a glass splashback adds a punch of colour.
"The house is so neutral that I thought I would add some colour," says Claire.
"But after it went in I did spend the night worrying that I had made a mistake because it was such a big change to the plain walls."
On the level below the lounge a guest bedroom opens out to the swimming pool area and is next door to a changing room with bathroom and laundry for wet towels. An outdoor kitchen services the pool area.
On the top level, the master suite occupies its own wing and opens to a balcony overlooking the tennis court. "I love my bedroom; it's very restful," says Claire. "Most of the year we sleep with the windows open at night."
The master suite also has a walk-in wardrobe and en suite with double vanities and a spa bath.
In the southern wing of the house, the children's lounge sits on the ground floor and leads to an office then the garage. A level up, the main bathroom is at the top of the stairs and along the hallway towards the southern wing are two bedrooms before you reach another bedroom at the end of the house with an en suite and smaller room beside a separate entrance.
