High on the banks of the Otaki River, far from the professions that once brought them worldly success, live a former policeman and his artist wife.

Former New Zealand CIB chief Snow Pratt spent more than 30 years in the police force but crime busting has now given way to gardening and landscaping. His wife Bev traded her career in the computer industry for cordon bleu cuisine and hosting some of the country's most discerning guests before moving on to interior decorating and creating abstract art in the garden shed. Bev paints under the name Bee Doughty-Pratt (doughtyart.co.nz) and exhibits regularly throughout the North Island.

This is the latest chapter in the lives of two busy and driven individuals. They converted their last (186sqm) home into Paraparaumu's luxurious 850sqm Greenmantle Lodge, catering to an international clientele demanding privacy and quality for brief stays. Among the guests were Tiger Woods and his entourage during the New Zealand Open. But, with the lodge completed and the business up and running, Bev and Snow sold up and began looking for a new project.



That challenge began to take shape nearly seven years ago when Snow and Bev purchased a "barn-inspired" house of macrocarpa board and batten. It was designed by well-known Wellington architect Hugh Tennent as a fishing lodge but the idea had never come to fruition.

"When we bought, the interior macrocarpa had a sort of deep orange stain," recalls Bev.  "Some walls were road sign yellow, some were primer pink and the kitchen cabinetry was denim blue with terracotta tiles. The colours weren't us and we knew we also needed to make structural changes and additions."

For the full story pick up a copy of the June issue, on sale May 20.