If you are not interested in staying at Paihia which is crowded by tourists, this is the place to be. There are some buses (http://buslink.co.nz/) from Paihia to Kawakawa, but we took a taxi and it was $50.
The house was old, three-bedroom house with a diverse garden owned by two artists from two contries (New Zealand and the Netherlands). Thanks for the relaxed atmosphere and hospitable attitude, Sonja and Sen!