Renting celebrity chef Annabel Langbein’s former Remuera home provided some of the inspiration for Peter and Corin Forster’s major renovation of this impressive Greenlane family property.
The couple rented that home after moving to New Zealand with their two young children in 2018 for Peter’s work.
Annabel and husband Ted were sometimes onsite in its minor dwelling but predominantly lived at their Wanaka property.
Peter says: “That huge house sat on 1800sqm grounds with a big entertainers’ kitchen, an outdoor fireplace and great vegetable gardens, which helped influence what we wanted in this property.
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“Our kids were attending Remuera Primary and we didn’t want to move them from there, but struggled finding a suitable Remuera property to buy. Then I widened our search area, discovering Greenlane, which is known for its close proximity to Cornwall Park.”
They were also impressed by Greenlane’s convenience, living a few minutes from the motorway, well-placed for the airport and a 12-minute Vespa ride to Peter’s last role in Commercial Bay.
In 2020 they bought this circa-1920, two-storey character home, peacefully secreted away down a driveway on a 1204sqm level, freehold section.
Corin says: “We’d done smaller renovations before and are avid watchers of renovation shows and we felt we were up for the challenge for a major renovation.”
They felt various previous extensions and renovations had made the layout somewhat bitsy and wanted to resolve that. Their extensive renovation saw much of the interior stripped back, with the ground-level interior layout opened up considerably. Outdoor living areas were reinvented and the grounds landscaped, with a heated swimming pool-spa added.
Peter says: “Corin and I are so proud that we’ve realised this property’s full potential.”
The homeowners’ extensive renovation saw much of the interior stripped back, with the ground-level interior layout opened up considerably.
The covered loggia area with dual-sided outdoor fireplace is perfect for entertaining in all seasons.
18 Matai Road in Greenlane, Auckland, is on the market for sale by auction on October 30. The four-bedroom, three-bathroom property has a 2021 CV of $3.95 million and, according to OneRoof data, last changed hands in 2020 for $2.8m.
Their home is located about 550m to the gates of Cornwall Park. On approach, the front of the 241sqm weatherboard home has pleasing symmetry.
It is accompanied by a separate double garage and ample off-street parking. Modern amenity such as indoor-outdoor speakers and the svelte kitchen accompanies character, including heart matai flooring, feature panelled walls and beamed ceilings.
The large entertainers’ kitchen-living-dining room now opens to a covered loggia area with adjustable side screens, which is perfect for entertaining in all seasons. The couple often relax here. A dual-sided outdoor fireplace sits between this and its neighbouring uncovered deck area.
The circa-1920, two-storey 241sqm character home is secreted away down a driveway on a 1204sqm level, freehold section.
The large entertainers’ kitchen-living-dining room.
A hallway feeds the second living area, a spacious bedroom popular with guests, a bathroom and separate laundry. It culminates in wine lover Peter’s pride and joy, an impressive 756-bottle glass-doored wine cellar that is temperature controlled.
Upstairs the ensuited primary bedroom with walk-in wardrobe, offers a reading room adjacent and is one of three upstairs bedrooms, accompanied by a fully tiled family bathroom.
The spacious level grounds, harbouring the new spa-swimming pool with its own decking, suit children Talia and Jaden’s play. New landscaping designed to be low maintenance incorporates raised corten steel vegetable beds and titoki hedging around the fence-line.
Peter says: “Corin said to me last week ‘we may never have a house this cool again’.”
However the household is excited about their next adventure, embarking as a family on open-ended international travel.
Bayleys agent Brittany Broadbent says: “The lucky buyer will be able to enjoy the many special qualities of this newly renovated family home. It will exceed your expectations, being one of the finest homes in the area.”
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