When the owners of this late 1960s architecturally-designed home in Milford went house-hunting with a substantial list of criteria they found a special lakefront residence where they’ve stayed 43 years.
Alastair and wife Jenny live here now with their golden retriever, having found this a brilliant family home to bring up their three now-adult children.
Alastair says: “The house was designed by the architect Peter Barry-Martin and his original core design was so good and so well thought out it still works wonderfully all these years later, largely unchanged.
“It’s only about 30 metres from Lake Pupuke with great views. It’s unusual because it enjoys level access from the shared right-of-way and a position sheltering it from the dominant winds of the easterlies and the south-westerlies.”
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They’re only the second owners of the circa 1968-built vertical cedar and block two-storey home, understanding the owner who commissioned it owned hotels.
47 Sylvan Park Avenue in Milford, North Shore, Auckland, is on the market for sale for the first time in 43 years. The four-bedroom, three-bathroom home property has a 2021 RV of $3.85 million and is being sold by way of a deadline sale closing August 3.
Listing agent Andrew Dorreen, of Precision Real Estate, says: “This home represents an outstanding opportunity to secure true mid-century inspired lakefront, immaculately presented and with significant capital updates (roof, heating and new cladding), leaving the new owners to have many years of enjoyment without major spend. Waterfront living in Milford – it’s doesn’t get better that that.”
The current owners are only the second owners of the circa 1968-built vertical cedar and block two-storey home, commissioned by the original owners who were hoteliers. Photo / Supplied
Living lakeside has been blissful, with a pedestrian gate and a double gate fronting their boat shelter providing easy access to the narrow strip of wildlife reserve between their 842sqm property and the lake. Their children grew up whizzing round the lake on a sailing dinghy and when their son became an avid windsurfer, they’d pull one particular blind down to signal dinner was ready.
The property met their other criteria too, including being walking distance to shops, quietly set as it’s on a private right-of-way, close to a golf course and manageable for children to cycle or walk to school.
While the couple have largely kept the original layout, they’ve successively updated elements to maintain and modernise it. This included replacing wooden balustrading with glass and installing a fully ducted heating-cooling system.
With time they found a few cedar boards needed replacing.
Alastair says: “We didn’t want a combination of old and new, so decided to replace all of it, requiring about half a kilometre of cedar cut to the same profile as the original.”
The home has four bedrooms, three bathrooms and garaging for three vehicles. Photo / Supplied
The owners' children grew up whizzing round the lake and when the son became an avid windsurfer, they’d pull one particular blind down to signal that dinner was ready. Photo / Supplied
The home has an internal-access triple garage on the right-of-way, accompanied by a covered entry porch opening into a foyer flooded with light thanks to 360 degrees of high clerestory windows. The north-west-facing open-plan living-dining-family room celebrates the view.
A recently modernised galley-style kitchen, like the family room, has original timber flooring. Several decks around the home include one fronting the master bedroom and a screened side deck off the family room.
Alastair says: “The one the living-dining room opens out to is a favourite place for breakfast, evening drinks and for enjoying year-round sun.”
This level’s ensuited master bedroom accompanies another bedroom and bathroom. Downstairs’ living room was invaluable for teenagers and Alastair and Jenny have appreciated having two downstairs studies. Two more bedrooms, a third bathroom, laundry and storage space round out the layout. Grounds include lawn and their reserve-side 10-metre swimming pool.
Now grandparents, the retired couple want to pass on this much-loved home to a new family, while they move to a more lock-up-and-leave property and travel more to spend time with their family.
