SCHOOL ZONES:
Newmarket School, Remuera Intermediate, double Grammar.
CONTACT:
Gary & Vicki Wallace, Bayleys, ph 0274 988 585 (Gary) or 021 988 585 (Vicki).
The $900 stainless-steel letterbox Graham Lawson designed and commissioned epitomises his fastidiousness about doing things the right way.
It's lockable, big enough to hold plenty of mail and keeps their NZ Herald bone dry. You'll find it outside the solid masonry Broadway Park home he and wife Margaret had built for them by award-winning Master Builder Phil Leach in 1999.
Graham's exacting nature, passion for architecture and belief in the reliability of concrete played an important part in the development of this two-storey architecturally designed home.
He says: "I was adamant we wanted to have sloping roofs and big eaves and that we wanted to build in concrete and have the floor upstairs in concrete, too."
Graham, whose grandfather was a builder, became a dentist as his father wasn't keen that he study architecture. As a student he became a big fan of concrete, working with the concrete gang building the Meremere power station.
The couple have only owned two houses during their 56-year marriage, both of which they had built for them. When they decided to downsize from the Arney Rd home, where they raised three children, Margaret spotted a small number of sections being sold within the Broadway Park subdivision.
They were impressed by the closeness to trains, Newmarket and bus routes. Their son was so impressed by the sheltered location and peep of the sea he built on a neighbouring section.
The couple's taste, shaped by living in London and holidaying in Europe, influenced their home's style. "Modern classic" is how Margaret describes it.
She says "we wanted our home to have character, interest and variety". This has been achieved by including elements such as a sheltered exterior courtyard near the front door and a retreat-like second living area.
Image 1 of 10: Quality and attention to detail give this architecturally designed home the edge
The solid masonry home has high specifications. Poured concrete was used in cantilevered balconies and in upstairs floors, supported by Stahlton pre-stressed concrete beams. There are Wunderlich terracotta roof tiles, copper spouting and downpipes and cedar-inside-aluminium-outside Alti joinery in exterior bifold doors. Multiple heat pumps, internal shutters and built-in speakers also feature.
A totara front hedge precedes the home, which has internal-access double garaging fronted by off-street parking.
A trio of openings in the wall outside their front door peep through to a courtyard below. Ruddy with Virginia creeper in autumn, it incorporates a water feature by landscaper Craig Steiner.
Classical elements include American oak parquet flooring downstairs and marble in bathrooms. Interior designer Hilary Skinner helped them select the fossilised stone tiles gracing floors in the foyer and in the cosy second living room with gas fire. The latter has bifold doors opening to the courtyard and the main garden.
Margaret says, "We wanted as much space opening to the garden as possible."
The kitchen-living-dining room flows out to an outdoor entertaining area, lawn and neatly manicured rear gardens with automated irrigation. A cabinetmaker crafted cabinetry for the granite bench kitchen and made the bookcases nearby. There's a potager vegetable garden outside, a neighbouring laundry and a powder room nearby.
The upstairs rear master suite with walk-in-wardrobe and two balconies looks northerly towards Rangitoto and the harbour. Its en suite features Italian Carrara marble and a separate toilet.
The landing links two further bedrooms and a second bathroom. An attractively curved wall in the bedroom Graham uses as an office continues in the second living room below.
Graham reinvented under-house storage space as their gym and built a concrete shed. They share Broadway Park amenities including tennis courts and a pool.
