When Dutch couple Jan and Marleen Bastiaanssen built their sprawling family home in Puhoi in 2004, they wanted to create something different.
“At the time, we were riding our bikes across Europe and took inspiration from architecture along the way,” recalls Jan.
“We worked alongside a Dutch architect who was living in Germany and made several changes to the plans while we lived out of a tent in Italy. There was a lot of Europe that we wanted to take home with us to New Zealand, and the result is this home that we’re incredibly proud of.”
15 Bruce MacGregor Lane in Puhoi, Rodney, is a three-bedroom home that could look right at home on the narrow avenues of Tuscany.
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Light, bright interiors make modern living easy, while terracotta-coloured exteriors and landscaped gardens effortlessly connect the home with the land. Not only does this home look different to the average New Zealand home, it performs differently too.
“We built it with European comforts which means it’s a much more comfortable home than a typical New Zealand house.
“We installed double glazing throughout the home which wasn’t common 20 years ago and we put more insulation in than we needed to. Back then we got comments like, ‘This crazy Dutchman, you don’t need double glazing in New Zealand’,” Jan laughs.
“But now, everyone wants double glazing, and we’ve had it for two decades already.”
Homeowner Jan Bastiaanssen says: “We built it with European comforts which means it’s a much more comfortable home than a typical New Zealand house.”
The three-bedroom, two-bathroom 227sqm residence sits on 4116sqm of land.
The couple generates a lot of their own energy thanks to a solar-heated water system on the roof and a heat dispersal system fueled by their wood burner. They’re also largely self-sufficient thanks to a well-stocked garden.
“When we purchased the land it was just an empty paddock. We bought 1000 plants and trees for about $1 each. Now most of our fruit and vegetables, even the wood we use to heat the home, comes from our land,” says Jan.
Part of the garden also features a banana plantation.
“I’ve always loved bananas and think they’re such a beautiful plant,” says Jan. “Their leaves are lovely and big, and of course the fruit is wonderful to eat. I had bananas at my home in Holland and wherever I live in the future, I will have bananas!”
Harcourts agent Ben Gibson says 15 Bruce MacGregor Lane will appeal to a buyer who wants to reconnect with nature.
“I’m so happy to be selling this home because Jan and Marleen have done the hard yards to create a wonderful home out of what was essentially a bare patch of land,” he says.
Light, bright interiors make modern living easy.
The vendors bought the land 20 years ago when it was just a bare paddock. They have since landscaped and planted trees, flowers and vegetables.
“When I first visited the property, I asked if they’d recently installed double glazing. I was shocked when they said it’d been there for 20 years – it still looks like new. My wife’s family is Dutch and I love and appreciate the proud people that they are. They do things once, and they do it right.”
While Jan and Marleen have loved their self-sufficient life in Puhoi, it’s time to look to the future.
“While we’re still very fit and healthy, we’re getting older and want to spend less time maintaining a property and more time on our boat. In May we’re cycling through north Germany and Scandinavia, then we’ll come home to New Zealand and our children and grandchildren and just see what happens next.”
15 Bruce MacGregor Lane in Puhoi, Rodney, is on the market for sale and goes to auction on March 6. The three-bedroom, two-bathroom property has a 2021 RV of $1.325 million and, according to OneRoof data, last changed hands in 2005 for $245,500.
- Sponsored by Harcourts
