Peter's nephew Alan has another way of describing it. "It's like a piece of artwork," he says.
The house was originally built by Chapman-Taylor for his friend, jeweller and artist Reuben Watts. Reuben, who was from the UK, wanted his new home to be "reminiscent of an old English-style manor house", albeit smaller in scale.
Chapman-Taylor was only too happy to oblige, and it features the kind of elegant detailing you would expect to see in a much grander home, such as the unique metalwork plaques on the staircase.
Throughout the solid concrete house there has been extensive use of timber that has been chiselled by hand with an adze to give it a decorative texture.
There are beamed ceilings in every room and many of the walls are clad in wooden panelling.
The doors have hinges made by a Takapuna blacksmith and there are several original Crittal metal windows, most likely made in Mt Eden.
Peter's father Bert Golder bought the house after Reuben Watts lost his money in The Depression and could no longer afford the mortgage.
A tally clerk at Princes Wharf, who had lived in a bungalow next door for over a decade, he and his wife Florence moved in with their four children, Bernard, Sydney, Daphne and baby Peter. Youngest child Ngaire was born two years later.
"It was a wonderful home to grow up in," says Peter. "There was a big garden to play in and a path across the road down to Takapuna Beach. We practically lived at the beach. I built a boat in the shed here. It was a great childhood."
After Bert and Florence died in the 1950s, their middle child Daphne lived in the house until her death a year ago. Very little was done to it in that time, apart from replacing a few windows.
Image 1 of 9: This 1920s architectural gem is a throwback to a bygone era. Photos / Ted Baghurst
For example, Florence's old sewing machine still sits in a small room off the lounge that has been used as a sewing room and library.
Peter moved back in to help look after an ailing Daphne before she died and says it is a very comfortable home to live in.
"Because it is concrete, it is cool in the summer and warm in the winter."
The focal point of the living room is a striking inglenook fireplace, surrounded by built-in seating. Peter recalls that it was his job as a child to clean the copper detailing in the fireplace, which included a ceiling panel around the chimney. "I used to have to stand on the mantelpiece to do it."
There are more built-in seats in the sewing nook and the dining area, which provide plenty of storage. A walk-through pantry leads to the kitchen, which has an electric oven as well as the original coal range.
Off the kitchen is a large wash house plus a toilet and a shower where the children could wash off the sand from the beach.
Upstairs is the bathroom with its tiled bath, and three bedrooms, which all have built-in storage. The master bedroom was particularly big for the times, and has its own fireplace. A small room off it was used as a nursery for Peter and Ngaire, and later as an office.
The piece de resistance is a mural of an English country home and garden that runs around the top of the room and was painted by Reuben Watts.
"You don't see many of those," says Peter. "It has stood the test of time."
Outside, the spacious corner section still has some of the original fruit trees along with the shed and a sun shelter Peter built.
