Entrepreneur Diane Foreman and her broadcaster husband Paul Henry have put their Auckland mansion on the market for sale.
Foreman told OneRoof she loved the house but it was too big for just the two of them.
“We always thought that it would be our forever home, but it got to the stage that Paul and I were texting each other and ringing to find each other in the house. We just thought this is so silly,” she said.
“It’s a house that needs a family. It needs active entertainers; it needs people who are going to enjoy it and party and make the most of it.”
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Foreman bought 33 Arney Crescent, in Remuera, in 2016 for $8.25 million. She planned to renovate it and then on-sell it – as she had with several other high-profile homes – but she decided to stay. Four years later she married Henry, at a ceremony at the house, and he officially moved in.
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Foreman said Henry left the house projects to her, but he has stepped in to front a video to sell the property (he did the same when the couple sold their Omaha bach at the end of 2020 for $7.35m).
“We had very clear demarcation lines and very different tastes,” Foreman said.
Foreman said the Georgian-style house, designed in 1895 by War Memorial Museum architect Keith Draffin, still had the original servants’ bells and remnants of the original wallpapers when she bought it. It took four years to upgrade the house to modern standards.
She engaged her regular designer, James Doole, to work on the project - which is fortunate because Doole is now the Barfoot & Thompson real estate agent tasked with selling the house. Sydney architect Harvey Little and Australian celebrity landscape architect Paul Bangay were also on the team to create Foreman’s “idea of heaven”.
While Foreman and Doole were reluctant to talk price, Henry was more forthcoming in his video for the listing: "You'll have to be rich, it is fabulously expensive," he says.
Sporting a pocket square and a jacket, Henry has obviously gotten used to the house that he touts will "transform your life, it's transformed mine". He name dropped their landscape artist Paul Bangay as "the gardener" who also works on King Charles' gardens.
"It's in the top 0.3% of homes in the country, if not the best home in the country." he asserts.
The six-bedroom house at 33 Arney Crescent, in Remuera, Auckland, is one of New Zealand's most prestigious homes. Photo / Supplied
Diane Foreman has brought the house up to her exacting standards. Photo / Supplied
Foreman said the project was the “pinnacle” of her more than 50 house renovations. “We dug under, we added on, we extended," she said. “It’s a work in progress, a bit like the harbour bridge.”
For Henry, she created a 60th birthday surprise while he was out of the country – an underground wine cellar (Henry has put out wines under the Invivo brand and has his own gin brand, The Henry).
As well as the six bedrooms, including a suite for guests or staff, the house features formal and informal living and dining, a spectacular kitchen, a conservatory, study, and gym.
The bedroom looks out to the harbour. Photo / Supplied
The wine cellar Foreman built for Henry's 60th birthday. Photo / Supplied
The lower ground holds a media room and library, which connects to the garage via tunnel dug under the pool. Foreman carried wallpapers, light fixtures and more in her luggage home from London trips to finish the house, which has arched windows, a fireplace from the Wilson house in Takapuna and richly detailed molding and woodwork.
She loves the homeliness of the house. “We’re just happy to hunker down, read a book and watch TV. I’m a huge reader so the library is really important to me. It works well because Paul’s a drinker and I’m a reader so I’ve got the library,” she said. “I love watching Paul on TV, he’s so good at what he does.”
The library where Foreman spend much of her time relaxing. Photo / Supplied
While they decide what to do next, the couple’s plan is to spend more time on Henry’s boat, Olive, or at their bach on Waiheke. “We are genuine downsizers,” Foreman said.
She’s currently working on a huge renovation of a former Parnell student flat for her business, but expects that doing a new downsizer place is on the cards. “I love doing houses,” she said. “I’ll always be doing houses until I get carried out of one.”
- 33 Arney Crescent, in Remuera, Auckland, is for sale by negotiation
