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There are the harbour views, it’s true. But what really gives Westmere its distinctive appeal is the abundance of 1920s bungalows and their old-world charm.

It’s a charm that certainly captured the hearts of minds of Arn and Ella Mehta when they were looking to build a family home from scratch.

Arn happily admits he has an affinity with the bungalow style.

“The spaces invite elements of life to flow together,” he says. “And they can be as individual as their owners.”

Darren Saunders, from Rylock™ Auckland North Shore & Rodney, remembers Arn giving him a call to talk about the style he was after for the windows in his new home. “He asked me to meet him outside an address in Westmere. It turns out it was an old bungalow. He said ‘this is what I’m after. That’s the sort of colour we want and we’re looking for that style of window. Can you make it happen?’”

At the same time, the brief called for a seamless indoor/outdoor flow from the house’s living area out onto the deck and back yard.

Arn and Ella had already been sold on the benefits of Rylock™ windows and doors when they visited the Altus Windows Systems stand at the Auckland Home Show.

“We loved the way the windows and doors looked and moved,” Arn says.

The key, of course, was whether these windows and doors could work with Arn and Ella’s homage to classic bungalow styling.

“They really wanted the right aesthetic,” Saunders says.

Atlantic48™ was the perfect choice for the windows. “They achieve the old bungalow-style window look by being colour-matched to the wide timber facing boards in the surrounding frame”, Saunders explains.

Builder Louis Taylor of New Dimension Homes Limited praises the form of Atlantic48™ windows, which have a strong look suited to bungalow style homes.

And then there was the matter of creating that dramatic flow from indoors to out.

“We wanted a really seamless indoor-outdoor flow,” says Arn. “Bifolds weren’t an option for us as there would be too many vertical lines.”

It was decided to use Eurostackers™ from the Atlantic48™ High-Peformance System to achieve what Arn wanted: big panes of glass and a big opening.

“Eurostackers™ can be up to 3.2 metres high and 2.5 metres wide, so it’s perfect for creating the kind of wide, expansive openings that Arn was after,” says Saunders. “They really create a wow factor, both opened and closed.”

Arn and Ella’s new home was three years in the planning. The end result was worth it – the perfect blend of old-world charm with the latest in style and functionality.