Bloody Spoilers!

The house was a cube-like structure, built into the side of a hill. The whole site was on top of a ridge line, overlooking the ocean, the top two levels being above the ridge. Windows were occasional long slits, running horizontal in an otherwise plain wall.

I entered the building through a door on the lowest level at the rear of the house, the front being the side of the cube facing the sea. The entrance way was small for the size of the building, an area about 3 metres square, leading to a steep stairway, carpeted in grey wool. The walls were painted in a tan colour, with burgundy detailing.

The stairs went straight up about three stories and lead to a kitchen area. The kitchen was modern- industrial design, with glass fronted fridges and counter tops paneled in Tawa. The kitchen area took up one quarter of an open plan area, which made up a dining room. In this dining area, another stairwell lead below to a guest apartment. From the kitchen, looking to the front of the building, a wide bi-fold door(open) lead to a large lounge areas. This in turn opened though another such door into another lounge, the far side being the ceiling to floor glass of the front wall.

The whole area was in neutral white and beige and apart from the kitchen, a recent renovation, seem outdated and a bit shabby.

Heading down into the guest apartment, the colour scheme and decor changed dramatically, to an Art Deco theme. The colour being predominantly in pale greens. The stud was considerably lower here and the ceiling had the unusual decoration of a ornate molding in mirrored glass! The carpet was a sixties blue-green colour. The paint was flaking and spotted with mould. The bathroom had a green free-standing batch and the walls were tiled in pale green and trimmed with chromed steel.

The guest apartments lead to a utility space containing a walk-in safe and another smaller safe. From here we move to what looked like teenagers apartments. A kitchenette had a bar fridge still containing a few miniature bottles of spirits and a bourbon bottle with a few nips in it lay on its side on the bench. In a cupboard I found a half bottle of Absinthe!

The rooms here were painted in an off-white and were spacious and plentifully supplied with built-in shelving, now empty.

This apartment opened out into a patio. To the left was an outbuilding, which looked like an old laundry. It contained five old refrigerators, of 1950’s design, one containing a few loose cans of beer, the rest mould. A large, flat area was paved in concrete squares, the concrete being old, but uncracked and level, with aggregate exposed. Further over was a modern-looking outbuilding, about the size of a small cottage. It looked in good repair and condition.

The area had clear potential. It was tidy but was currently devoid of any form of furniture, decoration, colour or plantings.

The view towards the sea was, to say the least, spectacular, looking out towards the Tasman sea. We were 800 feet above the sea level, with a steep drop-off from the front of the house, to the rocky shore.

I will never forget this house. It was run down, parts were in terrible taste, but I had to have it! Beyond the wear & tear I could see a unique home- the sort that rarely comes your way. With money and a lot of work, it could be spectacular.

As I headed back to the house, to continue the tour, my wife woke me at 5.45am, with some totally unnecessary question about toast bread- the rest of the house was lost forever.