Feature article
Casa Del Sol Raglan now priced below $2 million
Holiday home or permanent home, you choose.
Last updated: 23 September 2024
The charm of this stylish waterfront Raglan property at 16 Rangitahi Road, Raglan, Waikato, with a Mediterranean influence, has caught the eye of a number of designers since its completion by owners, Monica and Justin Grimshaw, two and a half years ago.
The three bedroom, two bathroom home, known as Casa del Sol Raglan was designed by Tane Cox from Hamilton firm, Red Architecture, and has been featured in Your Home & Garden. It’s also been used as a fashion shoot location by retailers including Flo & Frankie and the flooring and tapware suppliers of the property both took photos at the home to show off their products in situ.
The 185 sqm home’s location has to be one of the best in the seaside town of Raglan. The couple snapped up the site at 16 Rangitahi Road, over seven years ago, one of the first sections to sell in the new Rangitahi Peninsula subdivision. Very close to all the delights of Raglan village, Casa del Sol has only one house next to it, which was also designed by their architect.
The Rangitahi Peninsula is linked to the town of Raglan via a bridge so Raglan Area School is just a couple of minutes away. The couple’s two young children walk down the path in front of the house to the water for regular swims and kayaking with their parents. The home is on a 529 sq m site and there’s also council land below it so it feels like more.
“It’s such a beautiful community right on the water. There’s a 14 km walking track, a cafe, community orchards, a tennis court, and a restaurant, playground and a wellness centre are coming soon,” says Monica.
This is not just any subdivision. Covenants require that builds on the Rangitahi Peninsula prioritise a high calibre of design and building quality as well as sustainability and energy efficiency. The couple approached the build with great care. Justin handily works for a sustainable insulation company and is passionate about building high thermal performing homes.
“The exterior cladding of the house is 50mm Resene Rockcote Integra. We opted for this cladding because it’s very strong and robust and offers good acoustic properties for reducing noise. All the windows are double glazed, low e and argon filled – we went well in excess of the building code insulation requirements when building the house,” says Justin. And the result is, Casa Del Sol is very warm in winter and nice and cool in summer.
Monica designed the interior of the home, inspired by her passion for Mediterranean architecture after spending many summers visiting the region. She wanted the home to be reminiscent of a European villa and the 2.7 metre high ceilings, 3 metres in the hallway, help convey this.
The expansive water views, arched doors and curved terracotta kitchen island are some of the special features of this dream home. And Italian Venetian plastered walls envelop the house with a white, subtle texture, she says.
With a deck that wraps around the property’s entire perimeter, there’s an open-air courtyard with a private view of Raglan’s exceptional landscape, a special spot for the family.
The new owners will benefit from Monica and Justin’s hard work but you could do more if you wanted to. Buyers so far have suggested putting a lap pool or a swimming pool in front of the home which looks out over Raglan inner harbour, and Monica agrees this would be a very nice addition. If it were to be used as a holiday home with extended family visiting, the front lawn has heaps of room for tents, she adds. Other homes in the neighbourhood have added cabins to their properties too so that could be something the new owner could do too.
For the Grimshaws, this has been their main property. It's ideal as a place to work from home and to raise a family, they say. The Raglan community is a wonderful one to live in, with lots of activities always going on, including the Raglan Growers Market on Fridays, says Monica. The stores in the town tend to be family-owned businesses which give the village a friendly atmosphere. A European chocolate store is one to visit.
“Raglan has a beautiful mix of nationalities from Italians and Spanish, English, American, Japanese and Scottish residents as well as locals. A lot of the Europeans come for the surf,” says Monica. Raglan’s Manu Bay is world renowned for its left point break.
The vendors think the home will suit people who appreciate the Mediterranean influenced architecture as they do.
“We just had some people interested who had just moved back from Europe. I also think it would be an incredible beach house if you were living in Auckland and wanted to take a break from the city. We wanted to create a home that had that holiday feel that you could step into and be away from the world,” says Monica.
Having perfected the holiday-at-home feeling, it’s no surprise the owners have had a lot of requests to rent the home on Airbnb but as this is their main house where they’re raising their two young daughters, Monica has held back on doing this. She estimates you would probably ask around $1000 per night on holiday accommodation sites.
Ray White’s Julie Hanna is advertising the home with an asking price of $1.9 million and has said that the sellers will look at all offers. Once they find new owners, the Grimshaws will be deciding whether to do another project in Raglan or in Byron Bay, Australia.
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