Sheltered family setting in Highlands Park
The many demands of a growing teenage family were easily managed when Christine and John bought this New Plymouth property at 176B Heta Rd.
At 369sqm, this two-storey, five-bedroom home had the space to accommodate the couple and their three sons, and its private setting down a driveway had the off-street parking capability for all the family’s cars.
The address attracted them from the start. “The location is absolutely fantastic ... it’s handy to everything,” says Christine. John notes the convenient proximity to schools and shopping in the area.
The couple needed just moments to recognise the appeal of this home. “As soon as we walked in the gate, we said ‘That’s the kids off the street!’,” recalls Christine.
The front yard of the 1136sqm property is all concreted, secured with an electrically operated gate and dressed with low-maintenance plantings around its perimeter. “It’s massive,” says John. “You can park six or seven cars in here - and the caravan.”
The 2003-built home impressed them immediately - a plastered presentation with a designer look to it. The sheer size of the home suggested plenty of space inside, they liked the look of the pillars supporting a pergola at ground level, and conservatory windows on the floor above promised sunny living.
The home was given shape by a wellknown local builder, who finished it with a high level of detail and lived here himself for the first few years. The detail starts with the tiled welcome underfoot in the foyer, and glass brick features that make the space light and airy.
The initial appeal here was promptly confirmed. “As soon as I put my foot inside, I thought ‘This will do us just fine’,” says Christine. “And it’s done its job. We have loved every minute here.”
Christine and John appreciated the fine finishes of the home, which they say they still love. “But we are entering retirement now,” John says, “and we want a smaller house.”
The space here was great initially when family visited from Scotland, says Christine. “They didn’t just come for two weeks ... it could be for two months.”
It was a lot longer that that when John’s Dad came to stay. “We brought him out for a holiday ... and he didn’t want to go back. He stayed with us for five years.”
The house accommodates that sort of stay comfortably. A large downstairs bedroom enjoys its own access to the adjacent bathroom, giving it an ensuite advantage, and bifolding doors open the room up to the sheltered rear lawn and gardens.
A second bedroom is also found downstairs just off the foyer entry, and that placement also makes it useful as an office, if a work-from-home space is wanted. There’s also the convenience of a second downstairs toilet in the separate laundry.
Take the staircase up from the foyer entry and you find a large living room with a convenient kitchenette, and bifolding windows across its sunny northern face that open wide to give the room an alfresco feel. On the eastern side is the spacious master bedroom and its fully tiled ensuite, with the remaining two double bedrooms on the other side of the living room, and the tiled family bathroom off the back of the central landing.
The master bedroom has one of those glass-roofed upper conservatory features as an extension to its already generous space, while the two guest bedrooms each open into the other conservatory, which could easily be a shared study area. The master also has the luxury of two walk-in wardrobes - his and hers, Christine says with a smile.
The living areas downstairs, though, are the real focus of life in this house. An open-plan kitchen and family area is complemented by a large lounge room, the two linked by internal French doors and a double-sided gas fireplace. The kitchen connects to a rear formal dining room, which is also accessed from the foyer and opens out to the private rear grounds.
The kitchen is well-set-up to cater for gatherings of family and friends. Bench space is generous, there are side-by-side underbench ovens, a wide cooktop above, a corner pantry with plenty of capacity, and a sliding window that offers a servery to the courtyard outside.
Bifolding doors open from the lounge and family area to the wrap-around courtyard that’s protected from weather by the extended eaves of the roof above. “We love sitting out here - even when the rain is torrential, it’s bone dry,” says Christine.
The courtyard is bordered by lush but low-maintenance gardens. Sun angles into the kitchen end in the morning and then warms the courtyard beneath the open pergola as it progresses through the day.
The manicured rear grounds are completely enclosed and secure. “It’s great for kids ... we feel very safe here.”
New family owners will appreciate that, but the home will appeal equally to owners who entertain often or host visitors regularly as Christine and John have done.