- Pete Bossley’s colourful waterside house in West Harbour is back on the market for over $2m.
- Owner Dave Pratt cites difficulties in the real estate market, with buyers struggling to secure funds.
- The house, known for its “boxes on boxes” design, features 500sqm of floor area.
You can find Pete Bossley-designed homes on screen in NZ’s Best Homes - With Phil Spencer, or you could take a tour of the real thing in Auckland’s West Harbour.
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One of Bossley’s creations, a big, colourful waterside house, is back on the market after what owner Dave Pratt reckons has been the hardest real estate market since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
“We’ve had a number of people who want it, but they can’t get the money,” Pratt told OneRoof. “We had one guy whose offer we liked. He wanted to get his money out of China, and he couldn’t.”
Pratt has brought the house back to the open market after a spell on the sidelines and is now ready to sell for offers over $2m. He told OneRoof now that their children had left home, he and his partner Penelope were looking to move on.
The interiors are vibrant and packed with colour. Photo / Supplied
The vendors revitalised the house and restored it to its former glory. Photo / Supplied
133 West Harbour Drive might not be to everyone’s taste, but the couple is looking for a new owner who “gets” the property and will honour its colourful vision.
Pratt said that the house was built in 1981 and that he and Penelope were only the second owners.
“We knew Pete Bossley, and that’s what attracted us to the [house]. When we came into it, we looked at it and said, ‘Oh, the gentleman who owns it has let it go backwards’, and that gave us the opportunity to restore it to its original glory. That was the challenge.”
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The couple added decks out the front, towards the water and painted the home as per the original plans. “It’s an exciting home if you love colour,” Pratt said.
Pratt’s timber technology company dealt with a lot of architects. “We were quite regularly in touch with the likes of Pete Bossley, and I loved his work and I loved working with him.”
Bossley’s concept for the house was one of “boxes on boxes”, Pratt said. Because of the shape of the West Auckland section, which is long and narrow, the home extends around the shape of the water.
The iconic property "gets the sun in the morning, noon and night", says the owner. Photo / Supplied
“As a house, it’s very much an easy family home to live in,” Pratt said. “We have the outdoors looking out onto the water, but the other side of the house is very much the family side. Obviously, that all opens out. It gets the sun in the morning, noon and night.”
Not everyone gets the colour system. Those who have suggested they paint the whole house white are politely shown the door. “People say, ‘Isn't that busy?’ and when they arrive, they say, ‘No, it’s just so relaxing’.”
Barfoot & Thompson listing agent Craig Bradshaw said West Harbour was probably the only suburb in West Auckland holding value, noting that the area around 133 West Harbour Drive does not have the density seen elsewhere.
“There’s a land covenant across that side of West Harbour which prevents high-density development,” he said, adding that the house was one of a kind. “I don’t think there’s anything like it. It’s a big colourful house. And there are not many houses with 500sqm of floor area. That’s a lot of floor area.”
- 133 West Harbour Drive, West Harbour, Auckland, is for sale by negotiation
