{"id":495406,"date":"2026-06-25T20:20:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T20:20:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/495406\/"},"modified":"2026-06-25T20:20:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T20:20:12","slug":"what-the-heck-is-this-couples-pizza-oven-dome-home-hits-the-market-all-things-property-under-oneroof","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/495406\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018What the heck is this?\u2019: Couple\u2019s \u2018pizza oven\u2019 dome home hits the market, All things property, under OneRoof"},"content":{"rendered":"

– The unique home at 64 Marama Avenue South features a dome-shaped dining room called the \u201cpizza oven\u201d.<\/p>\n

– Designed by architect John McCulloch, the house was bought by Elmira and Deon Le Grange in 2022.<\/p>\n

– The Le Granges are selling to downsize, with Otatara praised for its tranquil lifestyle and school zone.<\/p>\n

Is it a UFO? Is it an igloo? No, it\u2019s a pizza oven, or at least that\u2019s what the owners of 64 Marama Avenue South<\/a>, in the Invercargill suburb of Otatara, call the quirky dining room attached to their two-bedroom home.<\/p>\n

The dining room itself is a nod to New Zealand\u2019s past obsession with domes, while the house is part time-warp, part retreat.<\/p>\n

The house was designed by the Invercargill architect behind ILT Stadium Southland, and is so distinctive that none of its past owners felt the need to change the vibe. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s been in the care of Elmira and Deon Le Grange since 2022, when they bought it for $635,000.<\/p>\n

Elmira told OneRoof that the couple were surprised when they first visited the property, adding that the last thing they expected back then was to buy such a unique home. <\/p>\n

\"Elmira<\/p>\n

The couple have named the dome-shaped add-on to their home as the “pizza oven”. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n

\"Elmira<\/p>\n

They bought the property in 2022 for $635,000. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n

Elmira said the couple moved from Christchurch to Invercargill for her work. \u201cAnd what an amazing move it was,\u201d she said. \u201cWe found this lovely, lovely house. When you turn off the road, you are literally in a forest because there are ferns and tendrils and tall trees and wild birdlife.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elmira said she loves to tell people that the house is only a seven-minute drive from the centre of town and only five minutes from the airport, although \u201cthe insulation of the forest [means] we don\u2019t hear aeroplanes overhead\u201d.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s the dome-shaped dining room off the main wooden house that raises eyebrows.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I first came to the house, I thought \u2018What the heck, what\u2019s this thing?\u2019,\u201d Elmira said, referring to the white dome room. \u201cBut you know what? That is my favourite spot in the house. It\u2019s our dining room, and we call it the pizza oven because it looks like a pizza oven.<\/p>\n

Discover more:<\/p>\n

– No more money: Journalists’ seaside retreat for sale after falling into disrepair<\/a><\/p>\n

– ‘Unlucky’ owners forced to sell at $1 reserve after floods kill $330,000 sale<\/a><\/p>\n

– Wellington\u2019s Woofington\u2019s castle from true crime doc up for mortgagee sale<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cYou go into that room, and it is so beautiful. It has these huge windows that look straight out into the trees, not the bottom of the trees, in the middle. That\u2019s where we have our meals. It\u2019s something unique and different.\u201d<\/p>\n

The history of the home is a bit of a mystery. Elmira had heard that it was commissioned by a conservationist who used to build tramping huts, but she had not been able to verify the information.<\/p>\n

Plans for the home show it was built for Gordon and Betty Crowther, and designed by local architect John McCulloch, of Stadium Southland fame. <\/p>\n

McCulloch died tragically in 2024 in a boating accident in Riverton. According to reports following his death<\/a>, McCulloch enjoyed tramping and had designed a wide range of commercial and residential projects, including Stadium Southland, Celtic columns in Invercargill city centre and Te Hikoi Museum in Riverton. <\/p>\n

\"Elmira<\/p>\n

The original house plans. The house is the work of local architect John McCulloch, who also drew up plans for Stadium Southland. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n

\"Elmira<\/p>\n

The house is surrounded by native bush and sits on a 4173sqm section. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n

His plans for 64 Marama Avenue South show his artistic touch; he drew a VW Beetle in the home\u2019s unusual carport and added clothing and shoes to the sketches of the wardrobe.<\/p>\n

The Le Granges told OneRoof they were selling up to downsize and retire. \u201cThat\u2019s why we\u2019re moving. We\u2019ll stay in the Southland area. We love the Southland people and the community feel here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bayleys listing agent Dion Cameron said Otatara was a popular spot for buyers thanks to its favourable school zone. \u201cIt\u2019s only a few minutes from town, but it provides a really beautiful lifestyle. It\u2019s very tranquil and quite special. It\u2019s definitely popular amongst families and executives.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added that Otatara offered residents a chance to live in privacy, surrounded by birdsong and ancient trees, including mata\u012b, rimu and miro.<\/p>\n

The two-bedroom, one-bathroom home sits on a 4173sqm section and has an RV of $720,000. <\/p>\n

– 64 Marama Avenue South, Otatara, Invercargill, is for sale, deadline closing June 30<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"– The unique home at 64 Marama Avenue South features a dome-shaped dining room called the \u201cpizza oven\u201d.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":495407,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[442,498,499,500,501,156,1258,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-495406","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-artsdesign","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-latest-news","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/495406","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=495406"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/495406\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/495407"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=495406"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=495406"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=495406"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}