Selling a previous 1930s home and commissioning this bespoke one, designed by Shanahan Architects and completed in 2021, took its owners from one extreme to another.
After living in a high-maintenance Remuera bungalow, they built this double grammar-zoned residence with a high-end architectural feel, effortless functionality and a low-maintenance exterior which only requires washing down.
One of its owners says: “A lot of people comment on the quality of the workmanship, which you can see in every detail. This house was definitely not built as a spec house but as somewhere beautiful where my wife and I and our two children have lived.”
When they bought the 612sqm site it held another bungalow, demolished to make way for its 425sqm successor.
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“The location is fantastic as Dell Avenue is wide and quiet and our backyard is north-facing, allowing for excellent sun throughout the day. It’s a calm, warm, and private family home, great for entertaining, where you feel like you’re at a resort. After our last home, I didn’t want this one to require a lot of time spent on maintenance.”
To ensure durability and low-maintenance performance the three-level home’s ground floor and first floor utilise the Resene Rockcote plaster system over brick, with the upper floor finished in Nu-Wall aluminium cladding. Putting plywood over wooden framing before the building paper for reinforcement also bolstered the interior’s in-built warmth.
“There is full air-conditioning throughout the home but in winter, without that on, we can be walking around inside in T-shirts and shorts.”
Fully fenced with an oversized internal-access double garage, the home’s bold contemporary lines are enticing. Stacked concrete steps precede the mid-level’s front door. Entry highlights a full-height glazed feature screen accompanying the floating timber staircase, linking this level to the upper floor.
The kitchen is resplendent with Italian marble. Photo / Supplied
The 12m lap pool with a weir overflow feature has an automatic pool dosing system. Photo / Supplied
The ground floor has two bedrooms, a bathroom and a generous rumpus room opening outdoors. Photo / Supplied
A useful foyer storage cupboard for shoes and coats is seamlessly concealed behind a seemingly decorative wall of vertical slats. This level’s north-facing rear living-dining-kitchen with scullery flows out to a rear deck overlooking their lap pool, with the rear of the upper level cantilevering out over part of it.
The kitchen is resplendent with beautiful Italian marble, but you can also cook on the second cooktop within the scullery. A sizeable floating wine cabinet in the living area can be discreetly closed, masterfully concealing its two doors within side pockets when opened.
A second living room houses their grand piano, with one bedroom and one bathroom completing this level. The ground floor may be popular with teenagers, guests or extended family, with its two additional bedrooms, svelte bathroom, separate laundry and generous rumpus room opening outdoors, with home cinema or gym potential.
The upper level’s ensuited rear master suite with walk-in wardrobe and its own balcony, plus the level’s fifth and sixth bedrooms served by another bathroom, all open to a long western balcony.
A useful foyer storage cupboard for shoes and coats is concealed behind a decorative wall of vertical slats. Photo / Supplied
The 425sqm residence spans three levels and has six bedrooms, four bathrooms, multiple living areas, a lap pool and garaging on a 612sqm section. Photo / Supplied
“We didn’t expect any views but one day my builder said, ‘you can look over the sea to Devonport from the top floor’.”
The children adore the 12m lap pool with a weir overflow feature and a fully automatic pool dosing system. Father and son have found the long western side of the grounds ideal for practising passing soccer and rugby balls.
Other landscaping includes resort-like mature tropical planting not requiring intensive maintenance and artificial turf for easy upkeep year-round.
Private schools, the Orakei Basin walkway and the Benson Road shops are nearby, with the CBD 5km away.
Ray White agent Richard Thode says: “It’s rare to find a near-new build in Remuera, especially one of this size and quality, with six bedrooms and three living areas.”
- 36 Dell Avenue in Remuera, Auckland, is for sale by a set date, deadline closing June 24
