With riparian rights, private water access to Ōrākei Basin, fruiting orchard trees, swimming pool and water views – 86 Meadowbank Road offers an unrivalled private oasis and a 2100sqm lifestyle block in the middle of Auckland city.
It’s what appealed to the current owners who come from a rural orchard background and wanted their boys to experience elements of country living. The family purchased the 1930s weatherboard bungalow in 2011 and lived on the property for a few years before making some modern home improvements.
The living area was upstairs and bedrooms downstairs – which they flipped as well as adding a cedar pavilion to the front with sliding doors and outdoor deck opening the home to the outdoors, lawn, pool, spa and view.
The couple took care to retain the home’s original footprint. The original upstairs living room is now the master bedroom with an ensuite and outdoor balcony and water view over Ōrākei Basin.
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The downstairs main living area now has a rumpus room, kitchen, butler’s pantry, bar and a separate laundry fed by a laundry chute upstairs. “It just needs a magic laundry fairy to do the laundry,” laughs homeowner Kate Thorpe.
Barn-like slider doors can also close off spaces to hide the butler’s pantry and bar area. The feeling of the home, which is north-facing, is airy, light and coastal. Other changes include the relocation of the original outhouse which has been transformed into the pool house, now one of the standout rooms of the home.
They also brought in well-known landscape expert Xanthe White to design the garden, doing a lot of the work themselves. White worked to the brief of keeping it mostly tropical with a coastal feel nearer the water.
Together they filled the back garden with fruit trees – mandarin, orange, lime, lemon and grapefruit. There’s also espalier apple trees down the side of the house and a herb garden.
The property has five bedrooms, three bathrooms and double-car garaging, and is for sale by auction on February 17. Photo / Supplied
The 2100sqm waterfront section has a narrow strip of land on the water where the homeowners’ children spent hours playing. Photo / Supplied
“When landscaping we tried to make it a little slice of the country in the middle of the city and it feels like that,” says Kate.
For a time, they also had two chickens – Coco and Chanel – who provided them with a few eggs, and beehives from which they produced honey. The family have also enjoyed access to the water via their dinghy, kayaks, stand-up paddleboards and a floating pontoon with an outboard motor that they call the party barge.
“You don’t get too many houses with that sort of land size in the middle of the city and very few have riparian rights. There’s no public walkway and we almost have our own little island in front of us where the boys would spend hours making tracks and huts,” says Kate.
“The party barge is always fun to take out and watch the sun go down. We’ve done a few drinks cruises on Ōrākei Basin. One Christmas party we had Santa arrive on the barge.”
The home is not visible from the road and accessed via a palm tree-lined driveway. It’s one of the biggest things they have loved about living here and what they describe as a “secluded and private oasis”.
The home, which is not visible from the road, has been a “secluded and private oasis” for the owners. Photo / Supplied
Ray White agent Richard Thode says: “One lucky family is going to snap this up.” Photo / Supplied
“Even when you pull up to the garage you can’t see anything. You have no idea that it’s there,” she says. “Then you turn the corner and see this amazing vista down to the water.”
The family’s move back to Gisborne now unlocks a remarkable opportunity for buyers wanting a unique country-in-the-city lifestyle.
This is where luxury and nature come together, says Ray White’s Richard Thode. “You’ve got 2100sqm, riparian rights, and your own access to the Ōrākei Basin – there’s nothing else in the city quite like it. One lucky family is going to snap this up.”
86 Meadowbank Road in Meadowbank, Auckland, has five bedrooms, three bathrooms and double-car garaging. The property is on the market for sale and heading to auction on February 17.
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