This beautiful coastal home is filled with character

Written by

16 September 2024

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4 min read

Awarded gold in the regional House of the Year competition, this Long Bay home has been exceptionally crafted.

A two-storey residence close to Auckland’s stunning Long Bay beach, it’s easy to see why this new build project by Legendary Homes received a gold award in this year’s House of the Year competition for the Auckland, Northland and Coromandel region.

Unique for the area, the property features a bespoke stone wall with decorated iron gates around its perimeter. Sto plaster, copper downpipes, railway sleepers lining the footpath and a large solid timber front door add to its strong street presence and give an idea of the character that might be found inside.

The grandeur of the home is immediately experienced upon entry with a double-height void showcasing a rhythmical copper light pendant. Immediately to the right is a sitting area before stepping up into the hallway where a study can be found.

With a heritage feel to it, dark walls and a beautiful bookshelf with ladder access, this study space has become a favourite part of the home – including for CJ Chen, director at Legendary Homes who brought this project to life.

“It has a villa feel with the ladder and wall detailing, it has a lot of character,” says Chen. “The house has a lot of class with bronze, brass and copper hardware throughout. There isn’t much black or silver, like many modern homes.”

The foyer opens to a sitting area on the right.

Natural light enters the sitting room. At night, the recessed ceiling lights create a relaxed atmosphere.

With dark walls and a beautiful bookshelf with ladder access, the study space has become a favourite part of the home.

Continuing along the hallway, the space opens into the kitchen, dining and living area. Dark timber veneer cabinetry brings a beautiful warmth to the space and complements the natural stone used for the splashback and island bench.

The scullery is perfect for food preparation when the homeowners are entertaining and also services a self-contained unit with two bedrooms, a bathroom and living area – all accessed via a hidden door in the kitchen cabinetry.

The main living area opens out onto the outdoor entertaining area. From here, guests can enjoy alfresco dining or retreat to the indoor dining area’s fireplace and nearby wine elegantly displayed in a built-in custom cabinet.

The rest of the ground floor includes a powder room, laundry with outdoor access and a double-car garage.

The full-height kitchen cabinet door on the left leads to the self-contained unit.

The unit has a living area and two bedrooms.

The scullery is shared by the main house and the unit.

The wine storage adds wow-factor to the kitchen and dining area.

The light-filled living area opens out onto the patio.

The staircase with its ornate iron balustrade leads to another sitting area that can easily be configured as a media room. This upstairs level is equally as grand and sophisticated as the downstairs with bespoke detailing and material selection.

Two of the four bedrooms feature full-size bathrooms with dark colour schemes – complementary to their walk-in-wardrobes with dark timber cabinetry. The main bathroom is also found on this level. Here, a large freestanding bathtub is a showcase, backdropped by a feature wall of copper penny round tiles. The two other bedrooms, although smaller, both feature built-in storage.

“This house is flawless in craftsmanship, it’s been gone through with a fine tooth comb,” says Chen. “Every little dent and paint smudge has been corrected to win this award.”

The staircase features an ornate iron balustrade.

This second-storey living space offers versatility with the potential to be transformed into a media room.

Two of the four bedrooms feature full-size bathrooms.

The bathrooms are accessed via walk-through wardrobes.

Challenges during the building process didn’t deter this attention to detail.

“This house is the first in New Zealand to have the power switches we’ve used, and it took a while for the order to arrive. Finding the right materials was also important, for example, the lights in the office were sourced from the specialty store to get the right aesthetic,” says Chen.

“For the exterior, a few changes were made. The roof was built during a materials shortage and originally it had Mediterranean-style clay tiles but this was changed to shingles. The detailing of the false rafters wasn’t part of the original truss system, so to hide the fixings everything had to be plugged with the drain to make them disappear.”

"The detailing of the false rafters wasn’t part of the original truss system, so to hide the fixings everything had to be plugged with the drain to make them disappear."

Legendary Homes has received many accolades over the years, with many other House of the Year awards to its name. A residential development company established in 2013, it’s made its mark in Auckland’s building industry by exceeding customer expectations and delivering quality homes that are completed on time and within budget.

If you’re looking for a local residential construction company, get in touch with Legendary Homes to start the process and explore more of the team’s stunning homes on ArchiPro.