Waikato Times

First home in developmen­t at Flagstaff makes grand entrance

- Stacey Rangitonga

One of the first freshly-built homes in a pocket of land in Flagstaff makes quite an entrance.

The grand, uncovered entrancewa­y was inspired by Middle Eastern designs and adds extra privacy to the roadside home, according to builder Scott Cowley of Tuscany Designer Homes.

It also adds a point of difference to your typical roadside threshold.

Located at 181 Cumberland Drive, the four bedroom, three lounge home is part of the latest group of sections to be released in the Meadows developmen­t, which has been ongoing for a number of years.

The northern Hamilton area was one of the last remaining rural areas in the city and has been developed by Colin Litt over the past decade.

The home includes an office, media room, two living areas, two glass feature fires, a water feature by the dining room and a kitchen build by award-winning Designer Cabinets Kitchens.

The abode, with an asking price of $1,699,000, also features eye-catching roadside landscapin­g which leads into the deep uncovered entrancewa­y.

“I think road appeal is obviously one of the number one things in a spec home, attracting buyers. I really like landscapin­g and artscaping and as well as you know, planting. Road appeal I think is so important with front elevation.” The master bedroom faces the backyard while the remaining three rooms, office and bathroom are all located on the other side of the property.

But rather than use up space with the hallway, Cowley has turned the space into a third living area, taking inspiratio­n from leisure rooms which are popular in some Australian new builds.

“We've designed it so that this area of the house, or this wing, is for kids or depending, you know what age that we sell to ... there’s no hallway and we utilised the area into a leisure room.”

Lodge listing agent Mike Thomas says the area is hugely popular because of its school zoning and easy access to Auckland along the expressway.

Thomas says he’s never had one of Cowley’s builds stay on the market for more than three weeks, and the buyers can vary from retirees to young profession­als with small children.

“It's amazing the amount of people that live in Hamilton and work in Auckland,” Thomas said, “particular­ly around the Covid time, both sides of it - beforehand and then afterwards - we still got a drift down here when Auckland started going through the roof.

 ?? MARK TAYLOR /WAIKATO TIMES ?? A brand new home in Flagstaff is one of the first up for sale in a new stage of the developmen­t.
MARK TAYLOR /WAIKATO TIMES A brand new home in Flagstaff is one of the first up for sale in a new stage of the developmen­t.
 ?? LODGE REAL ESTATE ?? The home includes an open plan living, dining and kitchen area.
LODGE REAL ESTATE The home includes an open plan living, dining and kitchen area.

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