SCHOOL ZONES:
Rudolph Steiner School, Woodlands Park School.
CONTACT:
Lynn Lacy-Hauck, Ray White, 021 190 0611.
*plus off-street for 6 cars
When American-born Kimberle Haswell met her Kiwi husband-to-be, Bruce, he was building a house at Huia, west of Auckland.
"We got married and I helped him complete it, then, around three years ago, we heard that some good friends of ours were interested in selling their home here in Landing Rd," says Kimberle, who teaches at the Rudolf Steiner school nearby.
The couple were entranced by the peaceful woodland setting and by the fact that the property is actually two houses -- both on the same title. They'd been designed and built by the late, well-known local artist Gerard Commissaris, and the Haswells were especially impressed by the property's green credentials.
It's built of corrugated iron and cedar plywood, with wool insulation and decking boards made from recycled milk bottles and rice bran.
"All the paints were biopaints," explains Kimberle, a committed vegan, who strives consciously to unleash her inner minimalist, "and the internal floors are plywood too."
Bruce is a musician with a broad set of talents. Recently, he's become interested in mediaeval music.
"I wanted to be closer to Titirangi Village in a place that could house my studio and all of my instruments," he says.
"We both have a tendency to hoard things but this house is like an apartment in the middle of the bush. It works best with a bare minimum of 'stuff'."
At almost 4000sq m it's a large property but easy-care, too.
"There are no lawns to mow and the estuary is so close you could easily keep kayaks here. Plus, it's only 25 minutes' walk to town."
Image 1 of 4: Native woodland and birdsong are the backdrop to this duo of modern 'green' homes on shared title
He and Kimberle make the trek to the village regularly, via a handy walkway. There are 250 steps to climb so they keep fit and don't need to belong to a gym.
On the ground floor, the house has a big double garage with ample workshop and storage space. On the next level is their large, modern, open-plan kitchen, dining and living room. The house has three bedrooms, one of which has been used as Bruce's studio, and there are two bathrooms. The view from the master bedroom is spectacular.
"We love lying in bed and watching the sun come up," says Kimberle.
A pleasing colour palette of duck-egg blue and soft green has been used throughout the house and it continues next door in the second, smaller house, where Kimberle's mum, Helen lives.
Mother and daughter agree that this has been a most successful living arrangement. Helen works from home as a consultant in revenue and sales and she's created a charming, tasteful, little hideaway with its own kitchen, bathroom, two bedrooms and a deck.
Blues and greens also predominate here and the house is cosy right through winter.
"It doesn't take much heating at all," she says.
Most of the other properties on this part of Landing Rd consist of major and minor dwellings and there's a strong sense of community.
"One of the things we like most about Titirangi is the cosmopolitan mix of cultures," says Kimberle.
"For example, after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, a number of Japanese people moved out here. They feel safe and they love the sense of space."
Kimberle, Bruce and Helen had planned to spend some time researching and contemplating a new life in the north but, as it happens, they bought the first property they saw -- at Whakapara.
"It felt just right, in exactly the way that this one did."
