SCHOOL ZONES:
Mangawhai Beach Primary, Otamatea High School, Maungaturoto.
CONTACT:
Robbie Robertson, Bayleys, 021 959 798.
AUCTION:
Feb 15, 2pm.
From day one, Bede and Mary Brittenden knew that this house was a pick above the rest. They'd watched its intriguing quadrant-shaped form taking shape high on its elevated perch and it never stopped interesting them after its completion.
That was 18 years ago. Four years and two owners later, Bede snatched a window of opportunity to see inside the house that he had admired every time he headed to and from the Mangawhai Golf Course just two doors along the street.
The Brittenden's early Christmas present came late in 2002 when Bede saw the property featured at a Bayleys' golf club promotion. After one viewing, he put in an offer pitched to cancel anyone else's interest and shut the door on the first open home in the New Year. Then he and Mary packed up their water's edge Mangawhai bach and moved up the hill.
They became the third owners of a property that is their third holiday home in this popular resort town. Yet after all of that, they still felt overwhelmed.
"For the first six months we couldn't believe it really. It was one of the biggest properties we've ever owned and we almost felt as if it was too nice for us," says Bede, a retired financial adviser and former rugby referee.
Bede and Mary got more than they bargained for here, too, on land that was once an avocado grove. They bought not one but two dwellings - the main house with its sweeping, sheltered decks and the self-contained sleep out/bach off the driveway en route to the house.
Inside their new front door they began to get the full measure of the lifestyle options on offer. On the entry level there are two purpose-built studios with distant sea views, hence the name 'Seabreeze Studios' that came with the property. Upstairs the guest and master bedrooms, bathroom and laundry are at the back. At the front, the open plan lounge, dining area and kitchen with elegant wooden ceiling beams embrace the big views out to sea.
Image 1 of 6: One couple's move up the hill opened up a whole new world for their growing family.
Within this living area there is plenty of space for placing furniture. The previous owners had their dining area by the kitchen bar but Bede and Mary's dining spot by the bi-fold windows has been a winner for the sheltered connection to the outdoors.
For larger scale entertaining, the Brittenden family and friends have made significant memories up on the roof-top deck. It is here that they have hosted gatherings from birthday parties to Bede and Mary's 50th wedding anniversary, with family that now numbers four adults and 11 grandchildren.
Bede and Mary's city base is at the Selwyn Heights Retirement Village in Hillsborough, and when they have stayed here with family, they've happily stayed in the sleepout that was the original dwelling here.
They have made the most of this entire property, too. The concrete boat/campervan pad at the bottom of the driveway has been covered in crushed shell to become a petanque court. The five remaining avocado trees are a fruitful, intimate backdrop to their sheltered dining area on the back deck. One year, one of the grandchildren sold the avocados to the local shop owners. Another year's pickings about five years ago took care of that year's rates bill.
These days Bede and Mary rarely venture up to the rooftop, preferring life on the two more accessible lower levels.
