- Corina Montgomery and David Lawrence are selling their “French chateau” in Tamahere, Hamilton.
- They designed the home with antique fixtures, including 300-year-old doors and a Capo di Monte chandelier.
- The couple is moving for retirement, leaving behind the estate with its extensive gardens and unique features.
A Waikato couple is selling the multimillion-dollar “French chateau” they designed while eating KFC on the outskirts of Hamilton.
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Corina Montgomery and David Lawrence had long wanted to live in a stately home, and in 2014, they decided to make their dreams come true when they bought a 6913sqm site on Davidson Lane.
They spent years planning the build and a further 12 months bringing it to life with TDM Homes.
“We were so passionate about having a house there and creating our dream, so we would have picnics on the site. The two of us, eating KFC,” Montgomery told OneRoof.
Montgomery and Lawrence sourced a lot of the furniture and fittings from Europe. Photo / Supplied
The couple designed much of the house around their furniture collection. Photo / Supplied
The kitchen is also French-inspired. Photo / Supplied
“We planted the cherry trees first, and we would sit there and go, what would this look like, and how do we want it to feel.”
The couple had already collected antique fixtures, fittings and furniture from their trips to Europe. Montgomery told OneRoof she ended up planning the home around them.
Treasured pieces included 300-year-old handmade entrance doors, which they shipped from France and spent nine months restoring; five chandeliers, one of which is a Capo di Monte Italian; a large 12-seat dining table; and a grand piano dating back to the 1880s (the latter two are so big they intend to leave them with the house).
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They also have a “celebrity-endorsed” water feature in the front garden, which was sourced much closer to home. They had been shopping in Hamilton when they stumbled across the same urns Elton John had at his UK mansion.
“It’s quite special,” Montgomery said.
The gardens have grown substantially over the years with Ficus, Virginia creepers and ivy climbing up the brick exterior to give the home more character. “We wanted [the house] to look as old as it possibly could. Even though it’s a relatively new house, it looks aged,” Montgomery told OneRoof.
The doors and fireplaces add a sense of history to the house. Photo / Supplied
The gardens have been carefully designed and cultivated. Photo / Supplied
The spa and sauna are more recent additions. Photo / Supplied
Visitors are surprised when they see what’s hiding at the end of the driveway. Photo / Supplied
She noted that new visitors are always surprised by what greets them at the end of the long driveway surrounded by arching cherry trees. “They say ‘Wow’. Everybody sees it as a castle.”
Montgomery said it was a “tough decision” to sell the estate, but they were moving out of the region for their retirement. “We wouldn’t be selling if we weren’t moving.”
While they are unsure of what their next house will be like, Montgomery didn’t rule out building another French replica.
- 16e Davidson Lane, in Tamahere, is for sale, tender closing March 10
