Easy lifestyle near Bell Block - By Mike Shaw

Enjoying The Good Life may have been a joke when Tom and Barbara brought lifestyle living to television screens in the 1970s, but it has become seriously attractive in the 21st Century.

Life on the land has an appeal for a wide range of buyers today, from business people keen to unwind after a pressure-filled work week to families wanting to give children a rural experience. Farmers downsizing in retirement also relish the chance to maintain a modest interest in stock and pasture.

The acre of land at 1179a Devon Rd, near the intersection with Airport Drive, offers what could be considered an entry-level introduction to lifestyle living, with a modern home oriented to the sunny north and looking out over the contours of the two lush paddocks below the house.

"There's good interest in properties like this," says TSB Realty consultant Wayne Beggs, who is marketing it jointly with partner Maxine Rogers and Robert Angus Real Estate consultant Darrel Nicholas.

"Easy living, easy maintenance, and a home that's only four years' old," says Wayne. "It's a lifestyle close to town and there's nothing to do to it, so it will appeal to the market."

The house is found on the first driveway up the right-of-way from the main road. The driveway curves down into the property which sits comfortably below the road behind a tall barrier planting of pohutukawa. Not only does the high hedge block out the sight of the main road, it also protects life here from the southerly winds.

I pull in and park beside Wayne's vehicle in the couple of convenient spaces adjacent the house. But the concrete surface of the drive continues down around the back of the house to an even more generous parking area. No problems accommodating visiting friends and family here.

There's a tidy timber retaining wall along the back of the drive, and well-established plantings make an attractive finish along the top of the timber. I see what Wayne means when he says new owners need do nothing when they move in.

The front door opens into the welcome of a tiled foyer, with bedrooms down the hallway to the left and living areas ahead. It's a pleasing separation of sleeping and living space. A control panel on a wall marks the alarmed and monitored security system installed here.

A quick check along the hallway reveals plenty of cupboard storage space, the family bathroom, separate toilet, separate laundry internal access to the double garage, and the home's four bedrooms. One bedroom is conveniently near the entry and could provide an office for someone working from home, two more double bedrooms look out over the deck and land, while the master bedroom is at the end of the hallway and is up to the minute with its generous walk-in wardrobe and well-specified ensuite. It also enjoys pleasing green views to the north and west.

The living areas are the spacious focus of life in this home, with the combined kitchen and dining space to the right and the lounge area to the left through an open double doorway.

The home is a boomerang shape and the angles created by the design add visual interest to the living areas and along the hallway.

The kitchen is a natural gathering point for visitors and family with its large island bench keeping the cook connected to whatever is happening. It's a capable area, too, with a stainless-steel Fisher & Paykel wall oven, an adjacent ceramic cooktop, soft-close cabinet doors, and a large walk-in pantry for storage and keeping messy meal moments out of sight.

Both the lounge and dining areas boast sliding stacker doors that open wide to let life spread out on to the large deck area. There's a striking feature out here with what looks to be an Indian bead tree (melia Azedarach) framed into by the deck - a nice shade option in summer and sun angling through the branches in winter.

Being just four years old, the home has double glazing to make it energy-efficient, and that also makes it a very quiet home in which to live.

Sun angles into the kitchen and dining areas from the start of the day, and becomes another feature towards evening, the home's present occupants say, noting the great sunsets they enjoy here. And looking up to the sky, they can watch planes flying in and out of the airport.

The home is well-positioned on the property. From both inside the house and on the deck, you can keep an eye on any stock grazing the paddocks - a solitary goat and a few chickens at present, but there's deer fencing along the boundaries and an alpaca or two could be a contemporary choice for new owners.

The home is on town water and both paddocks are well-supplied with water.