WATERSIDE WONDER
Sheltered property on an Orakei basin inlet offers enviable views and lifestyle,
T wenty years ago Dianne Taylor knew she had found the perfect spot when she came to view this architectdesigned home on the water. “I saw it at 5.30 in the evening and I owned it by 5.30 the next night,” she says.
Down a right of way and sitting beside an inlet to the Orakei Basin, her home sits in a sheltered and peaceful valley with a west- facing view across the water.
Built in the 1980s and designed by Avery Leuschke Architects, the two- storey cedar home with tile roof features quirky angles, split levels and high, raked ceilings.
With decking wrapped around it that steps down to its own jetty, the home is perched right on the water.
“You would never be allowed to build this close to the water now,” says Dianne. “We have ducks that come up and peck on the door, and you quite often see fish jumping out there.”
Soon after buying the home she set about some major renovations.
“When I bought it 20 years ago I basically gutted it and redid the kitchen and the three bathrooms,” says Dianne. “I put in new floors, which are recycled timber from an old theatre up north, and I did all the wrought iron railings in the house and put in an open fire, which you wouldn’t be able to do these days either.”
She also closed off hallway access to the upstairs bathroom and made it an en suite to the second bedroom. In the master bedroom she extended the walk- in wardrobe to use space over the garage.
On the ground floor, the dining space sits on a split level overlooking the main lounge, with its open fire. These rooms open out to the deck and overlook the inlet.
On the eastern side of the home, the kitchen has a curved granite bench and curved cabinetry. It opens out to another deck in a sheltered setting that has an open fire as its centrepiece.
“For indoor- outdoor entertaining it is just beautiful — when you have friends over you can light the fire, get some chairs and a whole pile of blankets and sit down with a glass of red.”
The main deck steps down to a jetty where it’s easy to launch a paddleboard or kayak.
“My son had a friend on the other side of the water so he used to take the kayak across and quite often it never came back,” says Dianne.
Near the entrance, on the southern side, the third bedroom has access to a bathroom that can also be entered from the hall.
Upstairs, the large landing has a high ceiling and has a shuttered window that looks down on the lounge.
“This space is big enough that I used to have my office out here,” says Dianne.
Both bedrooms on this floor have an en suite and walk- in wardrobes although the wardrobe off the master is virtually another room. The master bedroom also has a sunny balcony overlooking the water. “It’s a lovely spot to read a book out here.” As well as character features, the home has modern comforts such as underfloor heating throughout and a built- in sound system indoors and out.
Dianne says that after renting out the home for the past 10 years, she feels it is time to sell — especially as she now spends more time in Australia.
“It is time for someone else to live in it and love it,” she says. “It’s got a lot of potential for someone else to put their stamp on it or you could just live in it as it is.”