Returning to Auckland with their young family from London’s Notting Hill seeking to repeat some aspects of that locale, eventually saw the Mahonys purchasing this sophisticated Palm Springs style property.
Daniel and AnnaClaire Mahony had a property investment development company in London.
Daniel says: “We wanted to replicate the sort of city-fringe living we’d enjoyed there, including being able to walk almost everywhere. We started looking in Ponsonby but then broadened our ideas about location. We looked at lots of villas that didn’t have the type of layout and the bigger garaging we wanted with two young children and a third on the way.”
Then they found this substantial double Grammar-zoned property with a family-friendly layout, privately set on 1094sqm, four properties down Upland Road in Remuera. The contemporary 448sqm two-storey home architecturally designed by Cook Sargisson & Pirie was built by Roosenbrand Construction in 2002.
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Daniel says: “Having four bedrooms with three bathrooms all on the same level upstairs works brilliantly with young children. The ground floor is big, with lots of breakout rooms for the kids and great space for entertaining. We’re down a driveway with coded gates and it’s really private, quiet and secure.”
AnnaClaire says: “Also, with Upland Road shops and cafes just minutes’ walk away and Little Rangitoto Reserve’s playground nearby, we’ve enjoyed some of the easy walkability we had in Notting Hill.”
They bought here in 2015, keen to renovate to achieve a sense of retreat-like, sophisticated living, reminiscent of Palm Springs. There was already superb indoor-outdoor flow to entertaining terraces and an inviting pool but the previous owner favoured fairly dramatic decor, which wasn’t to their taste.
The 448sqm home has four bedrooms, three bathrooms, multiple living areas and triple garaging. Photo / Supplied
The re-landscaped grounds favour clean, elegant lines, with palm trees reinforcing the Palm Springs vibe and hedges maintaining shelter and privacy. Photo / Supplied
They replaced dark or intense colours with lighter tones, creating a luminous, light-filled atmosphere. This included choosing a light Carrara marble benchtop while remodelling the entertainers’ kitchen and having jarrah hardwood floors bleached back and stained to resemble French oak.
The predominantly block home faces north-east, allowing sun to stream into floor-to-ceiling windows and bathe outdoor entertaining. This includes an alfresco seating area which can be shaded by a Lourvetec system high above and another outdoor living area with an outdoor fireplace a built-in-barbecue.
AnnaClaire says: “The children love the heated pool so much we have to beg them to get out for dinner.”
A ground floor media room or lounge is an alternative to the spacious living-dining-kitchen, opening wide to outdoors. There is also a study they’ve used as a children’s playroom-craft room, a powder room, laundry, storage rooms and the triple garage with their home gym set up along one side.
The floor-to-ceiling windows allow the sun to stream in and bathe the interior in natural light. Photo / Supplied
“The children love the heated pool so much we have to beg them to get out for dinner,” says one of the owners. Photo / Supplied
Upstairs enjoys an elevated outlook to SkyCity and Mt Hobson. A family bathroom accompanies four bedrooms, which include the ensuited primary suite with walk-in-wardrobe and a second bedroom that is ensuited. There’s also a home office area at the top of the stairs.
The re-landscaped grounds favour clean, elegant lines, with palm trees reinforcing the Palm Springs vibe and hedges maintaining shelter and privacy. They installed astroturf and a trampoline in a previously little-used lawn area, making it a popular area for their three sporty children to play outdoors.
The northern slopes home has an indoor-outdoor music system, ducted air conditioning to all bedrooms and a large under-house storage room. After 11 years here, they’re keen to move to Auckland’s Eastern Bays for a beachy lifestyle.
Daniel says: “But we’re going to really struggle to find this sort of size, form and functionality in another home.”
Bayleys agent Gary Wallace says: “This substantial home enjoying a north-west aspect has beautiful connection from indoors to resort-like outdoor living.”
- 18A Upland Road in Remuera, Auckland, is for sale by auction, on February 18
