A home with personal touches

The finishing of this Waterview house reflects the taste and talents of its owners, writes Penny Lewis

Having an architect live nearby proved to be perfect for Shireen Nanayakkara and Chris McDonald. The couple were living in an old bungalow near the end of Oakley Ave, but decided to subdivide and build new to make the most of their location, which has superb water views.

“Our architect was our neighbour, Paul Somerford,” Chris says. Paul, who’s with Brown Day Group Architects, “stuck his head over the fence and said if we were doing something he would like to be involved”.

Chris knew he wanted concrete for the new house, not only for how it looked but also for its solidity and low maintenance. The old bungalow was moved off- site at 4am one morning and is now a home on Rosebank Rd. The tilt- slab construction was quick. Huge cranes came and erected massive sections of concrete in just three days. “All the neighbours came out and asked what was happening,” recalls Shireen.

The resulting house, which the couple moved into in 2009, has been a pleasure to live in for the couple and their 92kg English mastiff, Zeus.

Chris is a business studies tutor, but his hobby is working as a cabinetmaker in the enormous studio he has at home. He’s made much of the couple’s furniture and crafted the two bathrooms’ vanities and the master bedroom’s walk- in wardrobe.

It’s his handiwork you can see inlaid in the deck outside, which sports a herringbone pattern.

Shireen manages the Centre for Advanced MRI at the University of Auckland’s Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences. Keen for colour to offset the concrete and timber, she was the driving force behind her home’s distinctive glossy red kitchen, which has a stainless- steel bench, Smeg oven and gas hob and a Miele dishwasher.

When they were building, Chris had a Ducati motorcycle and by coincidence, so did the kitchen manufacturer. They colour- matched the cabinetry to the Italian motorcycle company’s bright red hue, known as Ducati red. Shireen and Chris have introduced other bursts of red into the house with their furniture and artwork, painted by Chris.

In a homage to the battle of Chunuk Bair, he wrote the names of 600 soldiers in cursive on a canvas that hangs in the living area. At the push of a button, a screen rolls down from the ceiling in front of it to transform the space into a media room.

Elsewhere in the house the colours are subtler, such as the brown- red, brass- like tiles in the main bathroom downstairs and en suite upstairs. They were chosen to echo panels of Corten steel on the outside of the house.

The couple’s bedroom looks out to the water and mangroves. A balcony with a glass balustrade ensures the vista can be enjoyed from bed. The ceiling in the master bedroom came to be quite by accident. The couple had opted for a plain, painted plasterboard ceiling, but luckily a building supply rep sent them a sample of bamboo ply, which they chose instead. The effect, with rib- like rafters, gives the bedroom the feeling of a whare.

The second bedroom has its own balcony. Further accommodation could be made of Chris’ studio, which is bright and sunny. As large as the studio is, Chris is on the hunt for a bigger one and the couple are also keen to move north.

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63 OAKLEY AVE, WATERVIEW SIZE: PRICE GUIDE: AUCTION: INSPECT:

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