Nautical architectural inspiration was an instinctive choice when Ray and Gemma Smith built one back from the beachfront in a location celebrating their love of the sea.
Their Langs Beach setting, a stroll through a beachside reserve away from the shore where they launch their boat, makes fishing, jet-skiing, boating and beach walks everyday fare.
Ray says: "I asked Pyramidz Architecture if they could design us a home a bit like a catamaran, seeing as I'm such a keen boatie."
The result was a spacious Linea weatherboard home, which presents like two gabled pavilions fronted by dual upper-level decks, pointed like the hulls of a catamaran.
Gemma says: "One of my girlfriends got us to photograph her at the point of one of those decks because it reminded her of that scene from the movie Titanic."
The big upstairs living area and the interconnected decks have excellent sea views, celebrating the location where Ray caught his first ever fish from the rocks, aged 6. His grandparents were among Langs Beach's early permanent residents, so Ray and siblings grew up regularly holidaying here.
This section's superior location and views convinced the couple to buy here in 2005, when they and their two now-adult children were Auckland-based. However, they commissioned this 2007 residence knowing they'd eventually shift here permanently.
Front gardens with mature palms and cycads deliver subtropical ambiance also fitting the couple's preference for low-maintenance landscaping.
Downstairs, dual deep double garages incorporate plentiful space for their Fyran speedboat, fishing gear and Ray's whopper jet-ski from which he's caught kingfish. They also incorporate a laundry and workshop space and are prefaced by ample off-street parking.
Image 1 of 4: This Linea weatherboard home was designed with boatlovers in mind.
Family and friends love staying at Langs, so ground level also has two big bedrooms, the home's spacious second bathroom and additional storage.
The upstairs front living-dining-kitchen area spans the home. Gemma can spot Ray arriving back onshore with his catch from the entertainers' kitchen. She can nip beachfront to aid boat-launching in next to no time.
Ray says: "My favourite spot is probably in that big armchair, reading and listening to the waves. It's so peaceful. There's always something to see such as a whale bringing her calf into the bay, dolphins or birds working the fish and encouraging me to get out there to catch a few more."
Electrician Ray now works two-weeks-on, two-weeks-off in Queensland gas fields but extensive past construction industry experience enabled him to closely monitor the build quality.
Extras include eco-wool insulation, copper spouting with rain-guards, mood and LED lighting, a ventilation system and extra heavy long-run roofing.
The living spread's Siberian ash floors and wood-burning fire are complemented by rimu detailing. Ray inherited a fine rimu stash from his late father who'd been a joiner and furniture maker.
Upstairs includes a compact office with sea view, two large bedrooms featuring the ceiling fans and walk-in wardrobes standard in all bedrooms, a large bathroom and separate powder room.
The couple thought they'd be here even longer, so nurtured a fine lemon tree to complement freshly caught fish and installed a heated outdoor shower.
They future-proofed for further enhancement, incorporating a covered rear spot with powerpoints anticipating a spa pool and home-theatre wiring.
However, they've seized the unanticipated opportunity of creating an extended family spread, buying a section next to neighbouring local properties that two of Ray's brothers own.
They anticipate their one hour 15-minute trip to Albany being trimmed further when the Puhoi-Warkworth motorway extension is complete in a couple of years.
