A spread made for growth
Privacy is prime in this mega- roofed waterside home near Waipu, writes Donna McIntyre
This contemporary waterfront home, built for privacy and to capture the ocean views and natural light, wears its name well. It takes the name Tipu from an artwork owners Grant Attwood and Darrell Tucker bought from Lorraine King. “Tipu is Maori for ‘ to grow’ or ‘ to sprout forth’,” Grant says. “A long time ago we bought a piece of art which hangs in the house and it summed up, too, that we had taken the blank canvas and it grew and moved into this special place.”
Grant and Darrell had seen this section when it had first come on the market a decade ago but missed out on buying it.
Fate intervened, however, and they were able to swap the home they had been living in for this section, 4km from Waipu and Waipu Cove.
Darrell — a perfectionist, says Grant — built the house. For the design, they turned to Gary Underwood.
“He is a friend of ours, and I have built a lot of his homes,” says Darrell. “And every home he designed is different.”
“He designed it so the back wall of the house goes from boundary to boundary so you can’t actually get out the front unless you go through a gate at one end. It blends so well. It almost creates two worlds,” says Grant. “And because it is almost a kilometre off the road there is no interference of unnatural sounds.”
Also the placement protects it from the dominant westerlies.
Built of block, Titan board and glass, the northeast facing house has a large roof sloping from front to back.
“The house is about 259sq m but the roof area is something like 500sq m and that gives an idea of how big the decks and the overhang are,” says Darrell.
The Corten steel that features in the property’s electronic gates opening to the limestone driveway is also used for the large panel that shelters the main entry at the rear of the property.
This is where the home’s spine wall runs from boundary to boundary.
The outside of this 50m- long rear wall is planted in ficus so it blends and is a living wall.
As well as their landscaped garden alongside their home, Darrell and Grant have planted a small orchard.
“And we don’t have downpipes, it’s all chains, and some of the chains drop into the water feature that runs right from the back of the house, under the steps and into the courtyard at the front.”
The dominance of glass at the front of the home allows all rooms to focus on the waterfront, looking out through floor- to- ceiling stacker slider glass doors across the lawn stretching 30m out to the estuary. Beyond that is the Waipu Wildlife Refuge, where endangered fairy terns nest.
“Because we have the estuary in front you can swim in there when the tide is in and then you have the ocean just a few minutes’ walk away,” says Darrell. “You can flounder, you can kayak, paddleboard and kitesurf.”
Looking back from the water at the front of the house, starting from the left side, you have the garage, which also has the furnace for heating water for the under- floor heating and the shower.
Next are the master bedroom, lounge, the travertine courtyard, and kitchen with Caesarstone benchtops, Electrolux oven and dishwasher, F& P gas hob and fridge freezer.
The lounge, dining room and kitchen’s doors all open to the sunken courtyard with fireplace.
Between the kitchen and the rest of the house, a cavity slider enables this part of the home, with bathroom ( opening to a private outdoor bath) and three bedrooms, to be locked off. It is this section of the house the couple have run as a B& B.
Because of its large decks and the courtyard, the home copes well when the couple entertain, especially at Christmas when their children and
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41 NORTH COVE LANE, WAIPU SIZE: PRICE GUIDE: TENDER: INSPECT:
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NEAREST SCHOOLS: CONTACT: ON THE WEB: extended family can add up to 48 people on site.
The home is now for sale as the couple have bought another property.
“We are going to change our view,” says Grant. “We hope we are going to move from one beautiful spot to another.”