Lakeside manner
In the 12 years Malcolm and Morea Ford have lived at Katikati, they could count the number of fogs they’ve had on one hand. “When we were living in the Waikato, we would have that in one week,” says Malcolm.
“The weather is much nicer over here.”
The couple, originally from South Africa, had been dairy farmers in the Waikato for about 34 years.
“We decided we had had enough and wanted a better lifestyle. So, we bought this and one across the road in Sedgemoor Lane.”
It is rich horticultural land but the couple didn’t want to be growers, so they pulled out the kiwifruit vines on the land and put up fences, enabling them to graze beef cattle. They later sold the property over the road, keeping this 4.6ha and the house.
Malcolm says the people who had built this magnificent villa were antique dealers.
“Everyone who comes out here thinks the villa is about 100 years old but it’s not. It was built in 1996.
“It took them five years to build it, they lived in it for five years and we bought it in 2006.
“This house will still be here in 100 years, it has been built that solidly. It has all the modern insulation, plumbing and wiring.”
Malcolm and Morea say the main criteria when they were house hunting was finding somewhere large enough for their dining table and chairs that had belonged to Malcolm’s grandparents.
“I was brought up in South Africa as a kid and we used to go and visit my grandparents and they had the old homesteads and antique furniture and I really loved all that,” he says.
“This house came up for sale and it was just perfect. “The people who built the house had an antique shop in Katikati and a lot of the furniture in this house were pieces they had restored. They said if there was any furniture that we liked, to write a list. They put a price
‘We crank up the big fire in the lounge . . . it heats the whole house.’
on it and we bought just about all the furniture.”
After five years in the home Malcolm and Morea decided to add a three-car garage, another veranda and a dining-room extension.
The existing veranda, which faces the property’s lake, was great in summer, but they use their new one in the winter as it faces north-east.
“That is great on winter mornings.
“You can tell what we have added on by the different coloured roof. In the original house, the roof colour was called lichen. The roof we put on was called rivergum, and it is a darker green than was added in 2011.”
The home features rimu floors, ceilings with wood panelling partway up the walls and friezes at the top, sash and leadlight windows. Both verandas have beautiful fretwork.
“Everything we put on our extension had to be identical to the original part of the home,” says Malcolm.
The home has three bedrooms, three bathrooms, a choice of dining and lounge areas, and the kitchen.
There is an open wood fire in the lounge, and another wood burner near the kitchen with a wetback connected to the hot water system.
“Especially if the grandchildren come over, we will crank that big fire up in the lounge,” says Malcolm. “It heats the whole house. It is so awesome to sit in front of an open fire.”
The home is set on large lawns overlooking a man-made lake with a jetty. Malcolm says they have a row boat they use when the grandchildren visit and the water attracts swans and ducks.
Sedgemoor Lane is a quiet no-exit country lane stopping just short of the Tauranga harbour that stretches from Mount Maunganui to Bowentown.
Although the couple chose to graze cattle, the land could again be used for horticultural purposes, and Malcolm says council has told him a second building on the land could be used as visitor accommodation.
“And our three-car garage, which has three big doors 2.8m high by 2.8 wide would be ideal for someone with a caravan, a boat or a motorhome.”
The couple are selling to downsize.