A lovely big home on the end of a peninsula, with sea views and rural views and bordered by a regional park – what’s not to love?
The only thing that owner Chris Jacobs didn’t love was that the style was cool and commercial and didn’t suit the Balinese aesthetic he embraced.
So, he admits, he "took to it with a vengeance", and now the strong facade opens to a serene, gentle interior.
“We had been living in Australia at the time and were looking to come back to Auckland. I’d only been to Waiheke a couple of times before but I was really taken by this location. I had always had a love affair with Bali and there was a great opportunity to incorporate that here.”
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Tri Hita Karana is the name of the 5.5ha estate, which is for sale for $8,995,000. The name means "three causes of wellbeing" and it is the traditional philosophy that guides life on the island of Bali. Those three causes are harmony among people, harmony with nature and harmony with God, and each one has guided the transformation of this property at 379a Gordons Road, Waiheke Island.
Most of the decisions about changes to the interior were made on an "as you go along" basis, and the result is a spectacular yet welcoming space, at the centre of which is a superb kitchen equipped with a Falcon gas cooker, a Bakbar professional grill, commercial-sized fridge and a butler’s pantry with a wine fridge. (And there’s wine close at hand – the property has 600 vines producing chardonnay which has been made at Kennedy Point.) Close by is the formal dining area and down a few steps a lounge which embodies the concept of well-being.
The bedrooms follow the same model, the master a generous space with its own gas fire and beautiful views over Whakenewha Regional Park. The two guest rooms are upstairs and each has an ensuite bathroom, walk-in wardrobe and minibar. A fourth bedroom, an office, a media room and a gym are also included.
But it’s the grounds of which Chris is the most proud. A landscape designer was commissioned to renovate the garden and it’s now a series of outdoor living spaces, each with a different energy.
“There are endless places to go. One of my favourites is the alfresco area at the bottom of the steps down from the house. There’s a little ruin built there from Waiheke rock, and the idea was that archaeologists might dig it up sometime in the future and think they’ve found an ancient ruin.”
The ruin is part of an all-weather dining area with barbecue and pizza oven, and adjacent is an outdoor seating area around a big fire pit.
Another favourite is the terrace at the front of the house, where a tranquil pool is home to goldfish and, recently but temporarily, a family of ducks.
The gardens will be very hard to leave but more travel is now on the schedule, and a lock-up-and-leave property must be found.
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