A stunning location deserves a stunning home. That’s what Matt Ralm told himself when he decided to ignore the budget he’d set to renovate his lakeside house and “just go for it”.
“I thought, ‘Let’s just build something spectacular, no expense spared’. And I am so glad I did. It turned out 10 times better than I could have imagined.”
The house is right on the water’s edge at Lake Okareka, 12km south-east of Rotorua. It’s on the Acacia Peninsula, which juts out into the lake and has views across the water to Mt Tarawera.
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“It’s hard to believe that we get to look at this view, and we’re just 10 minutes from town,” says Matt.
Wowed by the location, he and his partner bought the 1960s house three years ago, intending to do it up.
“It was a nice home, but the layout was wrong,” says Matt, who has renovated many houses over the last 15 years.
“We basically stripped it right back and started again with a blank canvas. It probably would have been easier to have pulled it down and started from scratch, in hindsight.”
He spent six months planning every aspect of the makeover with his architect while his partner consulted a designer friend to get the look they were after inside.
“Everything was carefully colour co-ordinated, we thought about every little detail,” says Matt.
For example, a colour scheme of copper highlights leads you into the home, from the striking fence panels with cut-outs, to the sculpture by the entrance and the impressive copper front door. Gold wallpaper in the lobby continues the metallic theme.
Schist has been used on both outdoor columns and the living room fireplace inside, tying in beautifully with both the grey wooden exterior and the elegant interior floor tiles.
The kitchen is one of the standout features of the house, combining elegance with practicality. It has a solid marble benchtop and splash backs, black tapware, electric cupboards and oodles of storage space. There’s even more storage in a laundry extension that Matt added, as well as space for wine and beer fridges.
One of the best things he did was making sure the outlook over the lake could be enjoyed from the kitchen as well as the adjoining living room.
“When we bought the place, you couldn’t actually see the lake from the kitchen because there were trees in the way.
“So we cut those down and now there’s a great view to look at when you’re cooking.”
The view from the master bedroom upstairs is just as breathtaking, and the balcony off it is a great place to sit. “We have been so lucky to wake up to this every day,” says Matt.
Also on this upper level is a walk-in wardrobe, en suite with spa bath and an office. All three bathrooms in the house are fully tiled with top-quality fixtures and fittings, heated mirrors and underfloor heating.
A spacious outdoor area was high on Matt’s wishlist, and he has ended up with around 250sq m of kwila decking stepping down to the lake.
“The deck is amazing — we’ve had some fantastic parties here,” he says. Extensive landscaping and hundreds of LED lights also make it a magic spot for entertaining.
There’s a lawn for Matt’s son to run around on, and a jetty for easy access to the water. Matt keeps a couple of kayaks by the lake and jokes, “If I knew how to use a boat, I would have one of those!”
It’s an absolutely fantastic spot to live, he says, but his work is taking him to Hamilton, so he’s reluctantly letting go of the property.
91 ACACIA RD, LAKE OKAREKA, ROTORUA
3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 1 carpark
SIZE (MORE OR LESS): Land 1270sq m, house 260sq m.
INSPECT: Sun 2-2.45pm, Thur 5.30-6.30pm.
AUCTION: Sept 12.
SCHOOLS: Lynmore Primary, Rotorua Lakes High School.
CONTACT: Summah Martin and Anita Martelli, Ray White, 027 928 4632 (Summah) or 027 552 6482 (Anita)
