When Brian and Bette Hambly decided to downsize, they knew a retirement village wasn’t an option for them. The couple preferred to go with a new build, and thanks to a little push from their daughter, they signed up with Generation Homes upon meeting with us.
Situated in Auckland’s rural town of Riverhead, the Hamblys built a beautiful home with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, open plan dining room and kitchen, and double garage. They selected a plot right next to their daughter’s – as part of their decision to downsize was motivated by wanting to be closer to their children.
Because of the many flat walks to enjoy in and around Riverhead, the couple opted for a medium-sized garden that would be easy for them to maintain.
Brian and Bette have been married for 56 years and they have three children and five grandchildren. Bette enjoys taking photographs and scrapbooking, while Brian enjoys tinkering in his garage workshop.
BETTE
We were living in Henderson in a house that we had built. It was a lovely home, but the house just got too big for us, and we knew it was time to move. It was a four bedroom home, and we wanted something a bit smaller. There was a steep bank included in our section and Brian would try and do the gardening, but it got too difficult that he couldn’t do it anymore. The house was just beyond us.
BRIAN
We are both in reasonable health, but I don’t think I could adapt my lifestyle to a retirement village. So we wanted to be somewhere manageable. At our age our legs are getting a bit tired so we wanted to live somewhere flat so that we could go on walks. We are very lucky that there are so many flat walks around Riverhead.
BRIAN
Our daughter and one of our sons live in Riverhead, so we would come to visit them often. Our daughter went away for a few weeks and needed us to house sit and look after her animals. Staying in Riverhead for those few weeks convinced us that we wanted to live out here.
BETTE
We do love the area. With our corner section we get to see mothers walking past with their push chairs, people walking dogs, and every time we go out we seem to meet someone new. Our daughter lives next door to us and one son lives around the corner, we are so lucky.
BETTE
Our daughter is responsible for us building with Generation Homes, she gave us the kick that we needed. She called us one night and said that we had an appointment with Generation Homes the next day, on the land that was beside her property. That day we left the appointment having signed for a house.
BRIAN
We went with them right away! The section and the house plan was just perfect for us and the whole experience with them has been marvellous.
BETTE
Chalk and cheese. We feel as though we are friends and family with Generation Homes. They are just such lovely people. The other one was more like a business thing. But Generation was friendlier and made us feel like we are a part of their family. Totally different.
BRIAN
They made us feel so welcome and the whole exercise was like dealing with family. Nothing was ever too much of a problem. We didn’t have one issue throughout the whole build.
BETTE
Generation Homes just did everything for us. I couldn’t believe it, we weren’t stressed in anyway, and we didn’t have to worry about a thing. They just told us when a payment was due and handled everything else for us.
BETTE
We went very neutral, with white ceilings and a pale grey on the walls. It is very similar to the , because we just loved the colours and stylings of it. We even went with the same kitchen. We put a brilliant glass splash back that extends across the whole wall. The carpet is grey and the tiles are sort of white with grey in them. Doing this allowed us to put all of our paintings and pictures up.
BRIAN
On the outside we have a medium brown brick that is sort of a peanut colour. We love the brick look on a house. We have two patches of weatherboard on the house as a bit of a feature, and we went a dark grey, to match the pointing on the bricks. The roof is a dark charcoal and it all goes very well together.
BETTE
Our daughter helped us a lot with the design of the house, and told us we should upgrade our doors. They have beautiful grooves in them and it just takes the plainness out of it. We added some extra shelving in the ensuite, extended the deck and put central heating throughout the whole house.
BETTE
Everything. The whole house is just perfect. As soon as we saw the plans we knew that this was our house. But I do enjoy the dining room because it is in the centre of the house and we look out onto the pohutukawa trees. We also get to see the sunrise for the first time, which is pretty special.
BRIAN
I enjoy everything about this place. The functionality of the house is brilliant and it all just works. I spend a lot of time in the garage, I have a workshop where I can go and tinker about. It has a TV and DVDs too. It is my man cave, and I do enjoy that area of the house.
BRIAN
A big yes. Building a house is a big thing and Generation Homes takes over all the hassles because they know what is needed. Everything was done for us. All we had to do was make decisions and then not worry about it again. We experienced their family orientated business and they came through for us and it is just beautiful.
BETTE
Yes, absolutely. We are just so happy living here, it feels like we are in another world and we are in our perfect house. What more could you ask for? We would recommend Generation Homes to anyone, no hesitation.