Timeless European styling
So loved, this house was built, sold and then bought again by the same owner, writes Louise Richardson
With its European styling and timeless aura, it’s hard to believe that 4 Burwood Cres is only 17 years old. What’s more, having built it for himself and his family, then having sold it five years later, businessman Bruce Robinson actually bought the house back again with Margot, his new wife, in 2015.
“He still loved it as much as he did the first time around and I just love it, too,” she says.
“The people who owned it in between had updated the kitchen and bathrooms beautifully and it felt practically new.”
Beyond attractive gates and a stone fence topped by box hedging in a quiet spot near Shore Rd, the house, designed by Terry Hitchcock, is reached via an imposing front door, which opens into a lightfilled atrium with soaring ceilings, handsome panelling and a tiled floor, criss- crossed with gleaming timber boards.
Twin columns serve to enhance the classical theme, and his and hers garages — one at each side of the house — enjoy internal access. A powder room, recently refurbished separate laundry, handy storeroom or wine ‘ cellar’, and large understairs cupboard complete the front of the downstairs level.
Beyond this, the living area opens up, with its cosy gas fireplace and sisal floor- covering complementing the crisp, smart, neutral colours chosen by interior designer Virginia Fisher.
It segues into a semi- separate dining space and to the right facing the garden is the dream kitchen. It’s a chef and entertainer’s delight with a full complement of quality appliances and the added bonus of a scullery, where china, glassware and crockery can be stored away neatly.
“We do a lot of entertaining and I’ve really enjoyed working in it,” says Margot.
Two sets of french doors lead to the terrace for alfresco dining and provide a wonderful view of the garden with its perfect lawn, carefully sculpted topiaries and neatly manicured perimeter hedges, which are double deep in some places in order to ensure maximum privacy.
Back inside, there’s a final surprise on the ground floor. To the right of the dining space lies a peaceful, quiet library or gentleman’s club- style sitting room, where Bruce likes to watch TV.
While the property is certainly impressive so far, a walk upstairs reveals yet more in terms of luxury and practical convenience.
The first spacious double bedroom you come to has views through wooden shutters to the atrium below.
The family bathroom is sleek and streamlined and a home office area could be returned to being a second bedroom with the replacement of a small wall.
The master suite is unabashedly sumptuous. It overlooks the garden and has views to the Auckland War Memorial Museum through huge french windows and is bathed in light. Bruce has a capacious wardrobe in the bedroom while Margot enjoys an enormous walk- through version,
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followed by their well- appointed en suite.
She’s understandably proud of the house. From its first incarnation as Bruce’s home at the turn of the century to the result of the fine decorating details she’s added herself in the last couple of years, it’s a property to cherish, she says.
Margot and Bruce have been spending more time at his farm on the West Coast and their property near Lake Hayes, between Queenstown and Arrowtown.
“While we love our Burwood Terrace home, we don’t need a permanent Auckland place at the moment,” she says.