When city real estate is getting smaller and smaller, it's nice to dream about spreading out in a country place of your own. A dozen bedrooms, room for the staff - you'll want them to keep all those home fires burning - gardens to make you famous.
Here's where you can find the spreads to beat all spreads:
The grand old lady of Burnside Homestead, Elderslie, is being offered by negotiation by Alan McLay and Kelli Milmine of One Agency Dunedin. The Scottish gentleman's mansion, a handy 20 minutes from Oamaru, is a mere 700sq m on just over 5 hectares of land.
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The circa 1900 house is pure Downton Abbey: there are still working servants' bells, a butler's pantry and maids' scullery. The sprawling house has had only two owners since the first builder, John Forrester Reid of the Elderslie Estate built it (and lived there until 1928).
The octagonal entry hall, lit with rose glass clerestory windows, is the only one in New Zealand. Appropriately for this part of the world, there are significant antiques and decoration with a Scottish flavour (and an option to negotiate). Every one of the 25 rooms has a story - there are five principal bedrooms with en-suites, a further three bedrooms in the servants' quarters, more in the coach house.
The kitchen may look olde worlde, but meets modern commercial standards. Add in an historic barn, dairy rooms, storage shed and a glorious garden estate and you could see yourself living here. The property has consents for 30 visitor parks and 50 guests for events, or your own historic lodge.
>>> Find out more about 527 Burnside Road here.
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And more luxury awaits on in Maungati, only 20 minutes out of Timaru. John Bridgewater of Luxury Real Estate is marketing the superb Arts and Crafts Holme Station Homestead. The spreading 1140 sq m house on nearly six hectares was rebuilt in 1912 on a property deeded by the then Governor, Sir George Grey, in 1862. You may not be able to afford the 47 staff who looked after the property of 38 rooms in its heyday in the 1920s, but you could fit plenty of guests in the remarkable 10 bedrooms.
A full upgrade in 2003 means the grand old house meets today's standards, but you can live large: fireplace in the grand hallway, and more scattered all through the house, four lounges and dining rooms, a library, five bathrooms, two staircases. The woodwork and fireplace details are picture-book perfect. Of course there's a helipad to bring in the guests, gardens to swoon over - starting with the curving 700 metre driveway and park of trees.
>>> Find out more about 1199 Pareora River Road here.
https://www.oneroof.co.nz/1199-pareora-river-road-maungati-waimate-canterbury-1231930
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Then again, if you want a modern twist on the old homestead, Steve Howes of LJ Hooker Twizel has just the place for you: a modern lodge with five bedrooms and breathtaking views of the mountains and Lake Tekapo.
Think of the Instagram potential with this 390 sq m of house with every lodge feature imaginable: the grand dining room with cathedral ceilings, the wine rack (for riddling the champagne), the library with fireplace, the art gallery hallway. The property,on 2220 sq m of land, is consented for up to 12 guests and has already won awards, so you'd be buying yourself a good business as well. Show off the spectacular views to international visitors, enjoy cooking in the chefs' kitchen (a mix of professional stainless steel and marble, with a proper pantry). Naturally the bedrooms and bathrooms are luxury, there's garaging and gardens.
Tekapo village is only a few minutes walk away (more 'gram opportunities), Fairly a 35 minute drive or the big smoke of Timaru is 80 minutes away.
>>> Find out more about 24 Aorangi Crescent here.
