The combination of classical elegance at the front morphing to contemporary spread at the back has kept Lloyd and Janette Edwards enchanted with this Auckland clifftop home since they built 30-plus years ago.
Retired finance man Lloyd says: “The classical looking front, featuring Waipu stone and timber shingles, was inspired by a Waipu stone house we’d been impressed with.
"But then visitors come in and are surprised to see amazing panoramic sea views and what a modern feeling the rear of the house has, with living areas flowing out to the pool and spa area.”
The four-bedroom house at 1a Clifton Road, Takapuna, is on the market for $5.65 million and Harcourts selling agent Matt Rogers says it's one of a kind.
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“Properties of this calibre and location are often lifelong dreams and acquisitions. Location, potential and opportunity are aligned to ensure the next owners have a home for a lifetime,” he says.
Lloyd and Janette were bowled over by the site and the views it would give them and completed building the home of their dreams in 1989.
The house was designed by architect John D’Anvers who’d been involved in that newly-built Waipu stone house that had impressed the couple.
The front of the house is classically inspired. Photo / Supplied
Lloyd says: “We get panoramic grandstand views from our living areas, the kitchen and three bedrooms.
“And there’s a private walkway and steps with a scenic landing down to the beach which made it easy for our boys to take the windsurfer and wave-ski down there.”
An elegantly curved driveway delivers a sense of arrival, heightened by the impact of the stone and the formal front gardens featuring topiary and a waterfall.
The property is marketed as having four-car garaging plus off-street parking as their internal-access double garage has doors opening through to a further two-car area, currently configured as a pool room.
The entrance hall, featuring a circular staircase, transitions to an extensive promenade of seawards-facing living including formal lounge-dining, a recently renovated kitchen and the octagonal family sun room.
The property includes a inviting swimming pool. Photo / Supplied
These all have doors out to the patio and colourfully night-lit swimming pool with spa, and share in spectacular, ever-changing views.
Lloyd says: “A burnishing sunrise over Rangitoto can be an awesome sight, as are the lights of a major cruise ship departing late at night under a full moon in the shadow of Rangitoto.
“We’ve found it to be paradise here for more than 30 years, admiring cruise ships and yachts.
“Shortly after moving in I woke to see a pod of dolphins offshore.”
The home is awash with areas they adore, be it in front of the formal lounge’s fireplace admiring the perfectly curved wall enveloping the staircase or in the angular family sun room warmed by the northern sun the home is designed to bathe in.
Balconies swathe the upstairs en suited master bedroom with dual dressing rooms, two other bedrooms supported by a bathroom and a smaller fourth bedroom or study.
The Edwards enjoy strolling across the neighbourhood to Takapuna, or taking the beach stairs to walk there or to Narrow Neck, around the coast. However, the couple is now ready to downsize.
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