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FEATURE LISTING: Architectural beachside paradise at Carrickalinga

After 34 years, Howard and Pat Holmes are selling their much-loved architecturally-designed family home overlooking Carrickalinga’s exclusive North Bay.

Built in the late ’80s, the four-bedroom, three-bathroom modern masterpiece at 4 Surf Avenue, Carrickalinga is a one-owner home that has been perfectly set up to accommodate large gatherings of family and friends.

This impressive property, set on 1622sqm, is located within a quiet cul-de-sac just minutes from the white sands and clear sparkling waters of Carrickalinga’s North Bay.

Owners Howard and Pat Holmes acquired the land in 1988 and promptly began building their new family home.

“We tried to design the house ourselves, but were coming up with very ordinary designs,” Howard says.

“Someone referred us to Jim Lelliot who had done a couple of places by the beach in Hove and Brighton.”

Lelliot designed the home with a vast, open plan kitchen, living and dining space with floor-to-ceiling windows offering spectacular 180-degree views.

“We thought [the sketches] were spectacular; exactly what we needed,” Pat says.

With four bedrooms and three bathrooms, the property has provided the perfect space for Howard and Pat to host family and friends.

“We managed to finish the house in time to celebrate my 50th birthday and our daughter, who is a caterer, cooked for us and several of our friends,” Pat says.

“The same year we were happy to welcome our first grandchild to our lovely beach house.”

The master bedroom is spacious, with ocean views, a walk-in robe and large en suite bathroom.

The other upstairs bedrooms have close-by bathrooms and plenty of privacy from the large living space.

Downstairs is a bright children’s bedroom with an adjoining rumpus room for play.

The house has been meticulously maintained over the years, with Howard and Pat doing a complete renovation of the kitchen and alteration of the staircase in 2005.

“It was a concave kitchen with a breakfast bar and we made it a convex one so it went out a little bit further over the staircase,” Pat says.

The galley-style kitchen has granite benchtops and stainless steel splashback, with plenty of modern appliances and storage space.

“We also took up the carpets that the children had spilt their orange drinks all over and replaced it with tiles, which are easy to keep clean and look beautiful,” says Pat.

“We have kept up the painting and done a lot of work in the garden.”

The vast front lawn is perfect for summertime sports and the terrace provides space for vegetable gardening.

The large rear garden has a vine-covered pergola and barbeque area with lots of grassy areas to play alongside exquisite views of the ocean.

“On New Year’s Day we used to have croquet on the front lawn and eat cucumber sandwiches as the children played in the boatshed with baby swimming pools,” Pat says.

The wide, wrap-around timber deck is the perfect spot to enjoy sunset drinks as cockatoos and galahs congregate in the nearby trees.

The property is more than just a summertime beach house, with a large combustion heater creating a cosy atmosphere to watch storms roll in over the hills during winter.

“It is always fun to light the fire and toss another log on the flames,” says Howard.

“And have another glass of wine,” Pat adds.

Carrickalinga offers the perfect lifestyle of a beachside paradise only a 30-minute drive to the wine regions of McLaren Vale and a 75-minute drive to the Adelaide CBD.

Howard and Pat love the community of Carrickalinga and the friendships they have formed while living in the area.

“When we moved, there were one or two people we knew down at Carrickalinga and they introduced us to a lot more people,” Howard says.

“We have spent many New Year’s Eves dining over the catch of the day and even play bridge with a few of other couples.

“We have met so many new friends; it has meant a lot to us.”

After years of wonderful memories, Howard and Pat are selling the home as it is becoming harder for them to maintain as time marches on.

“We are going to have holidays from now on where we don’t have to cook or clean; where we are pampered and don’t have to be the host and hostess,” Pat says.

The couple hopes the new custodians will live in the house for a long time, loving it as much as they have and creating many cherished memories with family and friends.

“It is the perfect lifestyle and we are sorry to be leaving it,” says Pat.

The sale is being handled by Mark and Georgie Bressington of Ouwens Casserly and is expected to sell for upwards of $1.8 million.