Zen by design

East meets west in this stunning home’s Japanese-inspired aesthetic.

Words Jo Ferris

This Mount Maunganui home’s dramatic street-front greeting showcases a striking look born in Japan. Yakisugi’s authentic process of charring sugi cedar not only improves the timber’s life span, it adds another layer to this home’s haunting story. 

It’s a story of evolvement – from this home’s birth in 1956 to a stunning epitome of the Mount’s coastal vibe.
The weatherboard construction remains, but that’s about all. Over the years, different owners have embedded their own mark. The vivid allure of black, vertical shiplap on walls curving around this home’s lower area are a fitting imprint by these vendors.  

Stunning aesthetics aside, two hidden elements enhance this driveway’s function. Power in one corner offers
a charge point for vehicles and parking for a motorhome. A gas point in a recess allows for the addition of screen doors to hide bottles and utility bins.

The garage is another improvement by these owners. Lined over block, carpeted and finished with extra detail, it is now a multi-purpose zone. An internal stairwell leads up to the first level. For visitors, the

sugi-clad steps sweep up through a coastal-themed garden, where resident tuis haunt the pōhutukawa. They’re so frequent and familiar, these owners have even named them.

Other than original native timber flooring throughout the home, the décor was completely transformed by prior owners.

One intriguing feature pays homage to the construction. A distressed weather-board panel hanging on a passage wall as a work of art, is actually a disguise for the hot water cylinder behind.

Apart from one original window in the master bedroom, joinery was replaced with double-glazed aluminium. Plywood is a statement element that instils tone and texture in key areas. Feature walls showcase ply’s natural blonde finish, while black negative detailing makes a striking effect in-between the panels. Kitchen cabinetry is finished in laminated plywood, while timeless stainless steel benches are a practical surface cooks will appreciate. 

Open-plan living and outdoor flow maximises space to connect with areas outside. A morning balcony at the front gazes out to sea. At the rear, there’s an intimate link with a secluded backyard oasis. The third bedroom also opens out to this sun deck and shelter from afternoon breeze within this tropical sanctuary. It’s an easy-care garden – with a corner for veges and a hidden sink bench for filleting fish.

The master bedroom commands the front-row ocean view. A second living area above, elevates this to a grandstand coastal outlook. With glimpses to three islands, Motiti sits directly in front and waves can be seen lapping on the beach. This is a spacious, multi-purpose zone – an invitation for leisure or work. With sun streaming inside, an air conditioning unit keeps life cool in hot weather. There are two more heat pumps elsewhere, plus a wood burner. Highly efficient, it’s another feature which matches this home’s distinctive vibe.

Within walking distance to the beach and cafes, this impressive home awaits another chapter. Inspection is invited, and more information is available on Oliver Road Real Estate’s website. 

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Bella Italia

Impressive and imposing, this Italian-styled home brings a taste of the Mediterranean to Tauranga.

Words Jo Ferris

Sharing more in common with some of the finest estates on Waiheke Island or Auckland’s blue-chip suburbs of Herne Bay and Remuera, the fact this prestigious property even exists here in Tauranga is testament to its owners’ foresight and belief in the district’s future. This home will defy time
– and remain as rock solid as it stands today – long into the future.

This home’s design, construction and innate essence are born from the Italian aristocratic palazzos it pays homage to. Solid concrete – including internal walls – construction and quality finish throughout totally belies any initial perception some buyers could be forgiven for thinking, according to Oliver Road’s Cam Winter.

Viewing is essential – if only to confirm the extent of this home’s magnitude. On the surface, the epic design and unique finish extols the Italian penchant for grandeur. Beneath all this however, the home hides well-considered attention to the fundamentals of a warm, healthy environment.

It epitomises the Mediterranean appreciation of family and nourishment. Togetherness feeds the soul - and this home instils that village philosophy in every conceivable way. Layered – like family – it revolves around the main household. This is magnanimous, and caters for crowds as effortlessly as it does for intimate dinners for a few. From here, the house embraces inter-generational unity with two individual, self-contained suites. The largest provides a two-bedroom apartment on the upper level. The second is a New York style one-bedroom apartment cleverly built into the basement level. Separate living for elders or extended members with children – together, yet independent.

Being multi-faceted, this home’s capacity for accommodating staff is also brilliant – from groundspeople to nannies or private tutors. A property of stature that also lends to boutique accommodation or an intimate function venue. Entertaining inside or out, the focus revolves around nurture and nourishment. It’s easy to envision long, lazy lunches outside, or lingering dinner parties in the soaring luxury of the banquet hall inside.

Such status personifies the luxury of international grand homes and estates often featured on TV programmes and in exclusive magazines. And deservedly so. Seen firsthand, the quality here is clearly apparent – from the concrete construction to the interior finish that mixes genuine Italian materials with exquisite New Zealand and accents. It is an intricate fusion of ancient Mediterranean heritage with hi-tech innovation and engineering ingenuity. Safely guarded behind gated security, within nearly an acre, this haven ensures seclusion and solace, protection, and privacy. Manicured gardens and courtyard corners, topiary pathways and sloping lawns,
a heated pool for year-round leisure, a spa for added bliss – it is the quintessential lifestyle.

Cam Winter notes that its relative length of time-on-market can be almost entirely attributed to perception, both with respect to its construction (given Tauranga’s and New Zealand’s unfortunate “leaky home era”), which this property sits so far beyond – not only in age (built 2008) but also in the reality of its solid-concrete construction. Possibly also some concern about the future Takitimu North Link. 

Now under construction and, with clear evidence of what will eventuate on Waka Kotahi, NZTA’s website, far away from producing any audible impact on this property, the highway will actually improve surrounding traffic and shorten distances to key arterial connections including shortening the distances both into Tauranga’s CBD and north towards Auckland. The scenic beauty of Wairoa Valley will remain, and its uninterrupted west-facing aspect will continue to produce magnificent afternoon sunshine which become romantic late-evening sunsets. With only 14 neighbours spaced in their own settings, life in this elite enclave can only improve. 

5 Sunny Downs Drive, Tauriko

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Back to the future

A lifetime of adventure and careers abroad has seen Jason Eves return to a family-focused BOP lifestyle and a professional role that offers challenge, reward and an outlet for excellence.

Words Jo Ferris

When it comes to Tauranga, I can’t help but connect with the idiom “born and bred”. Born in Tauranga Hospital and a pupil of Tauranga Primary School, Tauranga Intermediate and finally Tauranga Boys’ College, the main homes of my childhood were on Grace Road and Eleventh Avenue. I still very much connect
with these areas, having recently moved back to Grace Road late last year.

I met my wife Abigail at a conference while living in Auckland and working as national sales manager for the Animal Health division of Pfizer Pharmaceuticals. Abigail at the time was a key accounts manager based in Wellington. About eight months into a long-distance relationship, she joined me in Auckland and moved into a licensing executive role at TVNZ.

In our mid-thirties I had already lived five years overseas in Australia and the UK, but Abigail was keen to travel, so we picked up sticks and sailed off on an adventure. After varying directorship and management roles centred around high value assets and property in North America, we returned to New Zealand 12 years and one three-year-old daughter later.

Our decision to return to New Zealand was largely centred around our daughter, Harper, who is now seven years old and enjoying the same school playground that I did back in the 70s. We also wanted the lifestyle that Tauranga could provide for our family, and were excited by the opportunity to properly reconnect with family and friends who had remained in, or had also returned to, the Bay of Plenty.

Oliver Road is very much a family business. While it doesn’t bear the surnames of my business partner Cam Winter, nor mine (as was the case with my father Max Eves, who established EVES Real Estate in the late 60s,) we are personally connected to everything it stands for: The company’s values, reputation, level of service and outcomes delivered for clients are all reflective and representative of who we are. For us, Oliver Road was about rethinking and rebuilding the entire approach to selling real estate from the ground up, starting with a clear understanding of just how significantly technology and lifestyles have changed since the standard industry platform was established. Every field has had to deal with faster delivery of larger volumes of information, and we’ve all needed to specialise in order to contend with this ever-evolving landscape.

Narrowing our focus, increasing our level of understanding, and deepening our knowledge grows our capacity to deliver improved outcomes.
By looking inward and taking the time and space to explore our insights, we can question what we’ve previously done or held true – and then we can develop hypotheses, apply changes, and pave our own way forward. I think this best sums up Oliver Road’s journey so far.

At Oliver Road, we don’t have a phalanx of salespeople or subscribe to the “bigger is better” philosophy. Rather, we instead support our clients, customers, and outcomes by adding roles that enhance the single service we offer. Every decision we make about how to structure our business, including those people we select to join the Oliver Road family, is born out of our desire to constantly evolve and improve our specialist endeavour. We are dedicated to offering our clients an alternative, and are excited about what the future of real estate will bring.

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A Winter kitchen

In contrast to the less-is-more theory, Isis Winter believes sometimes more is just more.

Words Jo Ferris / Photos supplied

Isis and Cam both have a passion for homes – either selling them as Cam does, or renovating them, which is Isis’ specialty.

Having renovated around 20 houses, she loves working within the confines of existing architectural style. Built in 1999, their current home is nearing the completion of a full refurbishment. Most recently, the all-important kitchen.

“This home lends itself to ‘contemporary traditional’ which, although it sounds like an oxymoron, actually works really well. Something old, something new, with a healthy dose of luxury for good measure.”

And this kitchen has oodles of that. Dark cabinetry, heavy-duty marble and splashes of brass.

Looking to international trends to design something not often seen locally, the Winters are self-confessed Pinterest addicts and agree these types of platforms open up a world of ideas that can guide a direction with more confidence.

Whakatane-based Beaver Kitchens were totally on board in what became an all-encompassing team effort. Interestingly, it started where Cam and Isis wanted to finish – marble benchtops throughout the kitchen into the scullery, requiring two separate insets for butler’s sinks.

“It was a risky call to design and order pre-cut marble from overseas before doing anything else. Especially given that all other choices were made in context of a small sample piece of what would eventually become the star of the show: an island measuring 2700x1700mm, encased in 60mm marble with a stunning waterfall end.”

With the old kitchen stripped out, only minor changes were required to the structural layout.  

“The kitchen is very much its own space, with wrap-around windows providing views across the grounds. A natural open connection exists with the dining space, through to the family room and formal lounge.”

A matching bar unit is that link – an extension into the dining area that houses the compulsory drinks’ fridge and cabinet, where normal glass doors give way to brass netting.

Brass is a statement feature and the perfect complement to the kitchen cabinetry’s smoky darkness. The colour is two-tone; Slate on lower units and soft grey Lana above – finished with brass drawer pulls, knobs, tapware from ABI interiors and pendants from Hinkley’s Clarke collection, sourced through Vogue Lighting.

While eyes draw initially to the striking combination of light marble and dark cabinetry, the cook station is hard to ignore.

A dual-fuel Falcon range was a clear choice. However, there was slight concern as to how country or modern this key component should be. In search for balance, the Winters’ decision was made when a preferred model became available in almost the identical colour of cabinetry. Lucky! The Elise is no longer produced.

The bespoke rangehood was all Beaver’s Michelle McAnulty – creating this unique and one-off piece – and another reason why the Winters cannot praise Beaver’s entire team enough for their endless patience and passion.

Dark, engineered oak flooring, while not part of the kitchen per se, is an essential element. This entails 190mm planks within the kitchen, and a stunning herringbone pattern using 610mm pieces throughout the dining, lounge and entrance - all framed and connected by brass inlays. Each space offers tones to the next – clear connections with the flooring and brass, but also subtle nods – such as the herringbone tiled splashbacks and herringbone flooring elsewhere.

A work of art. Finished on time, on budget. Preferring edgy design, while paying respect to timeless style, Isis says their kitchen was inspired by this notion. She also admits both she and Cam are the complete opposite of minimalists.

Which is why their story ends where it began:

“60mm marble benchtops, two-tone cabinetry, brass-knurled handles, a bespoke timeless rangehood? Sometimes more is - just more.”

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A class of its own

The luxury and lifestyle experts bridging the gap on the coast

Words Monique Balvert-O’Connor / photos supplied

Oliver Road Estate Agents is adding to its already impressive repertoire.

The luxury and lifestyle specialist company has launched a re-fresh, adding a “coastal” focus to its town and country offerings. 

The company has proven itself to be hugely successful in the absolute upper end of the Tauranga market. Now there are plans to “fill the gap for a specialist luxury approach” over the bridge. The highly impressive number 98 Muricata Avenue, for example, is on its books.

Oliver Road is headed by two passionate professionals – Cameron Winter and Jason Eves – who say their company is poised to deliver results to Mt Maunganui clients and curate experiences for buyers that transcends what the market is used to. 

“We work with a limited number of clients and their unique properties to ensure we are able to consistently deliver a world-class service which includes valuation, discovery, finishing, furnishing, marketing, negotiation, and a wrap-around settlement concierge service,” Cam says. 

In addition, marketing includes architect, builder and interior designer recognition. “Impressive creativity, high value, and talented effort have gone into the homes we market and this deserves acknowledgement.”

Accolades, and client testimonials, whole-heartedly endorse this three-year-old company’s approach. The company were awarded Best Luxury Real Estate Agency in New Zealand last year at the Asia Pacific Property Awards, and also nabbed Best Real Estate Agent in New Zealand, going on to win Best Real Estate Agent in Asia-Pacific. But it didn’t stop there. They also beat out the competition in Best Real Estate Agency Marketing New Zealand and scored runner up in Best Real Estate Agency Single Office.

To top it all off, RateMyAgent and Google both gave the company a 5.0 star rating.

As Jason says, doing things well is the only way to do things. 

Muricata magic

More than a home, this retreat represents the spell-binding epitome of innovative design, craftsmanship and pure allure.

The departing residents of 98 Muricata Ave tell their house it’s been a privilege knowing it. Leaving isn’t easy, but this couple say they have “more chapters in life to ride”.

This address, which they’ve called home since August 2019, is like a tranquil retreat right in the middle of the hurly burly of Mount Maunganui. “It’s been an absolute privilege living there and, in keeping with that privilege, we have kept it absolutely immaculate,” they say.

While originally built for a celebrity chef, those now selling have been its first residents. 

They are joined by many when it comes to singing its praises.

The home’s builders, JC Builders, describe it as “a work of art”.

Its architectural designer, Jason McDonald of JMAC, says it presents a marriage of “meticulous innovative design, masterful craftsmanship, and an absolute refusal to compromise on quality”.

And the interior design team from Gezellig Interiors speak of its bespoke features. Think imported Turkish wall tiles, aged brass fittings, porcelain benches, and hand-blown glass light fittings.

Beyond the alluring, sophisticated exterior of modern cedar and dark accents, cleverly contrasting natural mediums enhance the home's warm and light aesthetic. As do walls of both polished concrete and cedar feature, and oak cabinetry and custom-made organic fixtures. 

All social spaces, including, as one would expect, an incredible cooking zone, are situated on the ground floor, and movement is open and flows from street entry out to a large protected outdoor room at the rear of the property. A natural, light-infused stairwell, with open tread stairs, leads to the upper level’s retreat-like sleep spaces.

While the home is only one accessway from the beach, there’s water closer at hand, courtesy of a swimming pool.

You name it, this property has it.

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All seasons’ sanctuary

This country estate masterfully combines nature and nurture – from the spectacular views through to its timber and glass pods, to the bountiful orchard and garden, it encompasses a sanctum of serenity.

Board and batten Lawson Cypress embraces this Mana Ridge beauty of a home, contributing significantly to its country estate ambience.

Architectural designer Adam Taylor says its architecture delivers an approachable rustic feel that is at the same time modern. Its makeup is a celebration of timber, an infusion of natural light, and a neutral palette. Its current owners (the house is listed with Oliver Road Estate Agents) say these things in combination equal “peaceful sanctuary”.

The home comprises three pods. One is dedicated to garaging with a guest suite above, another houses the main living area with its high-pitched and barn-like aesthetic, and the remaining is a bedroom zone. A glass-walled linkway, connecting the latter two, offers spectacular views (it’s easy to get distracted by the city’s night lights when journeying between pods).

Sited up high, this 1.4 hectare property - which includes an orchard and potager vege gardens - also enjoys expansive green views, and Mauao in the distance.

The house opens up on all sides, with the walkways and courtyards between the pods creating pockets of intimacy. There’s a place outdoors for every time of the day and every season.    

Adam tells how, in a nod to its rural neighbourhood, the design references a cluster of farm buildings joined together to make one whole. (There’s always the opportunity to add a further pod.) 

Three years ago, homeowners and Adam were joined on this house project by an impressive team of creatives - namely Jacqui Mitchell of Twill Interiors, Michelle McDonnell of Michelle McDonnell Landscape Design, and the Lighthouse Group building team. The result is a stunner that oozes country and contemporary charm combined. 

23 Te Auhi Way, Mana Ridge

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