In Arney Crescent, one of Remuera’s blue-chip streets, Ray White agents Ross Hawkins and Caleb Rufer are marketing a five-bedroom 496sqm house on a huge 2178sqm section.
Hawkins says number 42 is expected to sell for around $16 million - good value for the quality of the house, he adds.
“I say to people how long would it take to find a site like this? To design and build a home this good?,” he says.
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The award-winning Cronin-designed kitchen in the five-bedroom, five-bathroom Arney Crescent home in Remuera. Photo / Supplied
“It’s worth a lot to people to move in straight away, and not spend three years to go through the cost of building, if you could keep within budget or even get the supplies and products to create your masterpiece.
“Buyers at this level know what it could cost to do this today.”
The Kiwi owner, who relocated with her children after decades in London and Paris and who bought the house eight years ago, is now living in Sydney. She told OneRoof that her search for more grass for the kids to play on (they are now 10, 14 and 17) led her to the Patterson Associates-designed house that was built in 2010.
The Kiwi homeowner, who returned after decades in London and Paris, bought the house eight years ago and now lives in Sydney. Photo / Supplied
It had grounds designed by renowned landscaper Suzanne Turley that included an Italian-style swimming pool surrounded by lawn and indoor/outdoor terrace, with living areas wrapped in indoor-outdoor loggias.
“One loggia is for dining, the other is for the view across the Hauraki Gulf. But even though it is large, the house still feels intimate,” the owner says. “When you lie on the lawn by the pool with a book, you could be in a hotel in Italy. We’re in a sea of green.”
The family has valued the privacy provided by the house being tucked down a long driveway, and the way it has flexed and grown as the older children moved into their teenage years.
The Patterson Associates-designed house was built in 2010, is 497sqm in size on a 2178sqm section. Photo / Supplied
The owner shaped the 497sqm house to still feel intimate, and friendly for the children, with four bedrooms and living on the main floor. As they grew into teenagers, the older kids then commandeered the downstairs suite, which also has a rumpus room and projector for movie nights.
There’s also a wine room and gym, and the space has worked well for a nanny when the children were little.
While retaining the classical features of the house, the owner brought in warmth with textured wallpapers, warmer oak floors and more colourful tiles in the fireplace and an award-winning Cronin-designed kitchen.
One loggia is for dining and the other is for the view across the Hauraki Gulf. Photo / Supplied
The garden has been pampered, with washes of vines and clipped hedges building on the privacy, and providing green views from all the windows (as well as framing harbour views down the valley).
“The lovely thing was that as we evolved as a family, it became a lovely space for teenagers, they had their own privacy,” the current owner says.
“The previous owners did a fantastic job with Patterson on how the house works. It has aged beautifully, it’s contemporary and modern, but not minimalist. The classical style will age beautifully.
The grounds were designed by landscaper Suzanne Turley including the Italian-style swimming pool surrounded by lawn. Photo / Supplied
“My favourite is always the smallest room, a study upstairs off the bedroom that has a view of the pohutukawa. But it is also a great entertaining house.
“I never get attached to houses but the children and I have found this a very hard house to leave. It’s peaceful, cosy and warm. That design is very hard to replicate here in Sydney, I’m finding,” she says.
42 Arney Crescent in Remuera, Auckland is being sold via price on application.
