A fabulous French style Auckland home

A few weeks ago I saw a fabulous French style home in a local realty paper, immediately I shrieked out to my husband "come and look at this! I was so excited as the interior style was exactly the way I had foreseen my dream home. I have a file on my book shelf, titled "Home Ideas", it's full of ideas I've collected from interior magazines, nearly every image is inspired by all things French or country style and we are now at a stage in our lives of possibly realising this dream. Initially thoughts were a hectare of land where I could have some chickens a lovely large veggie garden and a small paddock. However, living so near the city, but still close to the beach we are not sure we are ready for a complete lifestyle change. We love living a short walk from the Mission Bay beach but it was hard to imagine how I could realise my dream on a small city section, that was until, I saw this amazing home. This house without a doubt has wow factor plus and I am excited that the proud owners Helen and Jason have allowed me to share their home with you today.

The property was designed by Aaron at Paradise Building Developments, who co-incidentally is Helen's brother. Aaron worked with Helen and Jason to design the house to suit their site. The interior of the home was designed by Helen and Jason who worked closely with their builder. The beautiful kitchen, laundry and some of the other detailing such as the window seat upstairs were designed by Aaron's wife's business, The gourmet Kitchen Company, yes it was all in the family and a very talented family they are. This lovely home is  226 square metres with 4 bedrooms, three bathrooms and a double garage, yet surprisingly it sits on only 449 square metres of land.  

I am always saying, "a picture paints a thousand words but in this case you really do have to see it to appreciate this amazing house, the feeling evoked when you walk from the entrance to the living area cannot be felt through an image. Tomorrow afternoon the house will be auctioned and I am very envious of its prospective owners. Details of the property and auction can be found "here". Why am I not bidding you may ask? a stubborn husband that is adamant he wants to remain by the sea. However, I now know I can build my French style dream without the necessity of a large piece of land and I may be stealing more than a few ideas from Helen.

Image above: A lovely stone table sets the tone on the deck off the family room

Above: stunning dark Oak floors bring warmth and character to the vast open plan living area. I love the light suspensions above the island, they reminded me a little of the ones in the post I wrote on the Manhattan apartment.

Above: a fabulous traditional kitchen with an amazing built in dresser, I like the clever way the dark wood island has been designed to have the appearance of a farmhouse table.

Above: The dining area extends towards the family room where there is a cathedral ceiling and beams.

Above: off to the left of the kitchen down a few steps it leads to the laundry, beautifully appointed in the same detail as the kitchen. The door leads to the garage and at the other end out of our view is a complete bathroom and double bedroom.

Above: The family room extends from the dining area and opens out to the front patio. Cathedral ceilings add to the sense of space.

Above: The formal lounge area to the rear of the open plan living is more secluded. With a flame gas fire and board and batten ceilings, this lounge area is comfortable and cosy without being too formal. The doors lead to a lovely tiled rear patio and garden area. I even spotted a raised veggie patch.

Above: The master bedroom is simple but stylish. I noticed it had a fabulous textured paper behind the bed, unfortunately it is difficult to determine in this image.

Above: en suite to the master bedroom, continuing the lovely aged wood theme with his and her basins and beautiful bevelled glass mirrors.

Above: A feminine double bedroom 

Above: upstairs bathroom with lovely little mosaic tiles and again the beautiful bevelled glass mirror

Above: I love the industrial chair at the desk, a mix of styles creates a functional boys room.

I hope you enjoyed a peek into this wonderful home and if by any chance you want to race to the auction tomorrow you will find more details in my link above.  I know my readers must get fed up with me reminding them about my French style bedroom makeover, however, if you are new to my blog you may want to see the post on how I turned a previously bland room with a pair of old shutters, into something special.

If you love French style, you may also like to view two slideshows I've created on various images of architecture, interiors and gardens and tour another beautiful 'new' French style house 'Villanova' PA.....Read more here.

I will be sharing this post with the following blog parties:

I should Be Mopping The Floor

Coastal Charm

Rain On A Tin Roof

Wow Us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style

Open House Party at No Minimalist Here

Time Travel Thursday at the Brambleberry Cottage

Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home

Stroll Thru Life