- A former Hare Krishna workshop in Katikati, now a home, is listed for over $1m.
- Owners Georgie and Roger Vincent display a classic car collection in their cathedral-like lounge.
- The property features native bush, a swimming hole, and private access to a stream.
A former Hare Krishna workshop that’s now an impressive home has been listed for sale for just over $1 million in the Western Bay of Plenty.
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The unconventional barn-style home was built with handcrafted adobe bricks and recycled timber, using an ancient Japanese construction technique.
If that isn’t eye-catching enough, the home’s centre-piece is a classic car collection, which owners Georgie and Roger Vincent display in their cathedral-like lounge.
When Georgie tells people they park their cars in their living room, she usually gets some surprised responses.
The inside of the house highlights the cathedral-like space and the craftsmanship involved in the construction. Photo / Supplied
The vendors’ car collection is on display in the lounge. Photo / Supplied
The couple told OneRoof they bought the 5.46ha lifestyle block at 994 Work Road, in Katikati, in 2016 from a local Hare Krishna group, who used to make furniture in the barn.
“We had another property at the end of the road,” Georgie said. “We lived in the bush. We had no power or anything, and you couldn’t see the house from the road with all the trees.
“We were talking to one of the Hare Krishnas and asked them about the barn. It looked like an old creamery because you could only see parts of the roof from the road. They said it was a house and they wanted to sell it. So, we came down and met them. We weren’t planning to move. But we were like, ‘Oh, it’d be good to have power’.”
When they walked into the home, the smell of the internal macrocarpa timber clinched the deal. “We shook his hand, and we took it on,” she said.
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The craftsmanship of the Japanese dowelled and pinned joints impressed the Vincents. “Like no nails. Real craftsman.”
Georgie also fell in love with the concrete floor. “I thought, ‘oh wow, this is like a skate rink, a roller rink’.” After holding a family wedding in the central workshop, the couple polished the floor.
The irony of buying the adobe home isn’t lost on the couple. “My husband is a house mover. We laughed because it’s a house you’d never be able to move,” she said.
The couple opened up the two apartments that flanked the former workshop, created a dining room and added a new roof. “They had an Onduline roof, which is made from cardboard. We re-roofed it with Colorsteel.”
The property sits on a 5.46ha plot next to DOC land and a stunning stream. Photo / Supplied
The lounge became a shrine to the couple’s beloved vintage cars. “We have my husband’s very first car, which he had when he was 16. It’s a 1966 Fiat 1500 Crusader. It’s not his original, but we found one from the same year. And we’re in the Mini Club, so we’ve got a little 1971 minivan.” The third car is a modern Mini.
Georgie commissioned artwork of a house on a truck, for the lounge, to celebrate her husband’s business. It complements the cars.
The home and its unusual architecture turn heads. Although it’s remote, drivers still pass by for one reason or another. “On the weekends, people drive up the road and you see them drive really slowly, their heads almost turning backwards looking at our house.”
The Vincents’ robotic mowers also draw attention.
Georgie said that although the older Hare Krishna couple who sold them the home retired elsewhere, there are still members of the Hindu sect living nearby and they’re great neighbours.
The couple has developed the gardens over the past decade. Georgie is a rose enthusiast and built retaining walls for her prized bushes. Likewise, she has planted a magnolia grove. The Vincents also own 12 angora goats.
The goats are part of the reason that the couple is moving on. “I have 12 goats, and they need some more room,” said Georgie. “And my husband has always wanted a farm, so we bought one out at Waihi.”
So enthused by her gardening and goats, Georgie forgot to tell OneRoof about the native bush and swimming hole on the property, which borders DOC reserve and the Kaimai-Mamaku Forest Park.
Fortunately, Eve’s agent Durrelle Green also lives on Work Road and knows them well. “There’s something about standing in the middle of big, mature native bush with the sun beaming through the trees. It’s very serene. The bush on the property will be a massive selling point,” she said, adding that her first open home for the property was phenomenally popular. “It was my busiest open home in three years.”
One of the appealing features for viewers was the two separate living areas on either side of the central living room. “You could easily split it between mum and dad and the rest of the family on the other side. We have a lot of multi-generational people looking,” Green said.
- 994 Work Road, Katikati, Western Bay Of Plenty, is looking for buyer enquiries over $1.09m
