Coast & Country
Town is about 10 minutes from this landscaped lifestyle block, writes Donna McIntyre
Elaine and Brian Bell have put their green fingers and years of gardening knowledge to good use landscaping their Pukekohe lifestyle block. They moved about 11 years ago, from Glenbrook where they had a kiwifruit and avocado farm, to be closer to Pukekohe. “We were nearly the last ones to buy in this subdivision in Grace James Rd,” says Elaine. “We have 1.99ha.
“We are about five to 10 minutes from the Pukekohe town centre. That is why it is so good, you are in town but you still have the rural outlook,” she says.
“We had a few acres at Glenbrook and we were looking at slowly coming down in size and coming closer into Pukekohe,” .
Says Brian: “We saw these sections about a year to 18 months before we built. We levelled an area out front and I staked it out and for the next year, winter and summer, in the morning I moved the house round so it faces the sun and gets the best views we could possibly get.
“We basically retired on to this place but having five acres, we have developed it nicely, grown trees all around it.”
They enlisted Sovereign Homes to build the single-level brick home with its tiled roof.
It’s an upmarket and modern home but also practical, says Brian.
The layout has a large entrance way, three living areas – lounge/dining, family room and home theatre – kitchen, two bathrooms (the second has shower and spa bath) and four bedrooms.
The family room, kitchen (with granite benchtop, stainless steel Delonghi and F&P appliances) and the dining room open through glass slider doors to the deck, where the couple have a barbecue and a table with eight chairs.
Heating is provided by heat pumps in the family room, main bedroom and the theatre room.
The home theatre, where Brian enjoys watching sport, especially rugby, is painted midnight blue and has a TV screen and a surround sound system, but could potentially be a fifth bedroom.
There’s also a double garage, workshop, and the laundry is off the garage. “It’s an easy house to work in,” says Elaine. And Brian’s diligence in working out where the home would sit means they have wonderful rural views, and a good distance between them and their neighbours.
“There are no houses close,” says Brian, “you can see the two on the right of way but they would be 300m away. It is quiet and secure.”
Because they chose the layout, Elaine and Brian haven’t needed to make any structural changes or alterations inside.
It’s outside that you see the result of their labours in the tree planting – natives and flax – by the small creek that runs down the back, and towards the roadway where they have landscaped the catchment area with more trees and an orchard, and avocados.
There are four paddocks, where they run a few sheep and a couple of cows.
“And at the front out on the road we have an electric closing gate operating on remote, and from the house if necessary,” says Brian.
The driveway is about 200m from Grace James Rd, down a shared driveway with two other houses, and then you have the remote controlled gate and nearly 100m of a wide concrete driveway leading up to the double garage and front door of the Bells’ home.
“Developing the gardens has been enjoyable,” says Brian but they feel now is the right time to move closer into the Pukekohe town centre.
“It has been ideal, we both love it here but it is time to move on and enjoy something else. I am close to 75 and my wife is a little bit younger,” he says.
Elaine has loved being in the rural setting, while still knowing it is only 3.5km into Pukekohe town centre, and 9.7km to the motorway.
Brian says the property is zoned future urban development, with room for up to four more homes.
“There is future potential to be subdivided.”