HIGH TIME A Pauanui bach built at a leisurely pace and furnished at speed

After waiting a decade to build their home, an Auckland couple furnished it in double-quick time over the internet

THIS PAGE To take advantage of their absolute beachfront location in Pauanui, Mez and Martin Hopkins pushed their holiday house right to the back of the site, allowing a series of large decks to be built overlooking the ocean.

OPPOSITE A pool was important, but the Hopkins didn’t want it to be visible to people walking along the busy reserve past the front of the house, so they put it down the side.

THIS PAGE (clockwise from top left) Hefty macrocarpa columns shield the entrance to the front door. Concrete poured in situ is a prominent feature. Martin and Mez Hopkins enjoy breakfast on the deck by the ocean. Spiky Agave americana at the front of the house deter people from wandering in. OPPOSITE (from top) A hand shower is tucked discretely behind the property’s only tree. The house is deliberately low on the landscape so as not to block views for others: “We felt it was the right thing to do,” says Mez.

Mez and martin hopkins are not the sort to rush into things. Their beach house in Pauanui took almost 13 years to come to fruition. They’d bought the piece of prime beachfront land while holidaying at the Coromandel resort in 2003. “We came across this empty section for sale three doors down from where we were staying,” says Martin. “We loved the location and thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice,’ as you do. Long story short, we ended up doing a deal on it, knowing it was going to take quite a while before we decided on a house and also got it built.”

Back in Auckland, the couple run an importing business, which kept them from getting to the Coromandel as often as they would like. Both are keen gardeners – “It’s how we relax,” says Mez – so they decided to start the garden for their new home by the sea before they started building. They propagated plants in their family garden in the city – 900 of them.

They focused on succulents, plants they both liked that would work well in the coastal environment. “We didn’t want a labourintensive garden that needed a lot of attention,” says Mez. >

“WE WANTED AUTHENTICITY AND CRAFTSMANSHIP… SO WE WENT STRAIGHT TO THE SOURCE IN SCANDINAVIA”