Space for everyone

well as a six-car garage for the family’s vehicles and Rick’s classic car, there were also two huge barns (one nearly 300sq m, with high studs, the other 185sq m), plus a couple of hay barns, massive parking and turnaround areas, even dual entrances. The beautiful rolling countryside, smartly post-and-rail fenced paddocks and deep well bore were all bonuses.

The big house has given the family a great lifestyle, says Christine.

“This is a great summer house, we live around the pool,” she says. “There’s a pool house with shower, sauna and a kitchenette, a servery for entertaining, outdoor speakers. It’s been awesome. From the deck off the entertainment room we can look out to Auckland, we can just see the tip of the Sky Tower, the planes landing and the hills to the west.”

The couple are selling now because one son has moved on, they’ve moved the business back to Papakura and have bought smaller property up the road to build a smaller house. But then, anything would be smaller than this country house, which is a whopping 1000sq m. Fortunately it’s zoned into useful parts, which have been ideal for combining the extended family.

A gracious tree-lined driveway and roundabout lead to the brick two-storeyed property, complete with dormer windows. On one side of the main house is a charming self-contained studio flat, with bathroom, kitchen and its own outdoor area that has been the home for the couple’s son and his girlfriend.