Daydream believer Building new in Beachlands has brought a little Scandi style to Auckland’s east

For this savvy couple, building from a pre-designed plan allowed them to realise their vision of a light, bright home near Auckland’s eastern beaches

Leap of faith

Sometimes just having a dream isn’t enough – you also need the courage to see it through. While living in their first home in Flat Bush, a new development in South Auckland, Becks and Giovanni Luca often found themselves driving to the nearby suburb of Beachlands to see family and friends who lived there. The couple daydreamed of one day making a move to the area themselves. In the meantime, it was becoming apparent that the couple and their two young children – Brianna, now 11, and Santino, now 10 – needed a home with more space.

In early 2016, encouraged by Auckland’s hot property market, the couple decided to sell their Flat Bush property. Buoyed by the generous land sizes on offer further east in Beachlands and excited about the prospect of building again, Becks and Giovanni took the plunge and made their daydreams a reality.

Family in mind

After a great deal of research, Becks and Giovanni chose to build their new home with local construction company Stonewood Homes. They looked for a floorplan that was well suited to their site’s northeast orientation, and settled on the Linkwater, an open-plan, five-bedroom package with two lounge areas, allowing for both casual and formal living.

“We are a close family with young children, so being together is important to us,” says Becks. The couple were able to modify the plans to meet their family’s needs and style. “We made some changes including a higher ceiling, larger storage spaces throughout and an increase in size for both living areas,” recalls Becks. They also opted for a larger kitchen island bench which can comfortably seat six. “We are so grateful we installed a larger island as we spend a lot of time there as a family, eating, chatting and doing homework,” says Becks.