SCHOOL ZONES:
Royal Oak School, Auckland Normal Intermediate, double grammar.
CONTACT:
Heather Walton, 021 432 167, Ray White.
AUCTION:
March 16.
*Plus OSP
Josca Lawrie lives in the countryside at Tomarata, between Wellsford and Mangawhai.
Nearly five years ago, she and her husband Robert were searching for a retirement project and a base in the city. They looked at a property at the end of tree-lined Golf Rd, which backs on to One Tree Hill domain and Cornwall Park. "My heart skipped a beat going up the driveway," Josca recalls.
Josca and Robert fell for the character-filled Canadian cedar home, most likely built in the 1930s. They loved its incredible kauri detailing, including heart kauri panelling and its abundance of stained glass.
The setting was a hit, too, as the property shares a boundary with the park, making for idyllic views of grass and oak trees, plus something else Josca was familiar with thanks to life on a farm.
"I could see sheep right over the fence here, too," she says with a smile.
After buying the property, the couple lived in the house for nine months and made some improvements, such as converting a sunroom off the master bedroom into an en suite.
Not quite ready to make a permanent move to Epsom, they rented the house to careful tenants and looked forward to one day being closer to Auckland's theatres, art galleries, shops and restaurants.
But it wasn't to be as last year Robert unexpectedly past away. Now, the tenants have moved out after buying their own home and Josca doesn't have the heart to continue with the plans she and Robert made.
Alongside the kitchen and family living and dining area, French doors open on to a terrace with a covered pergola and swimming pool.
Previous owners installed a double garage around the corner, with a deck above it. "It gets sun all through the day here. If it's not on one side, it's on the other and everywhere you look, it's green."
The house is very liveable as it is, but there is opportunity for new buyers to renovate and make their own mark, as Josca and Robert planned to.
Charming original features are still intact, such as a frieze and built-in bookshelves in the elegant study, near the front door.
The stairwell has a soaring figurine on its newel post and the main living room boasts a comfortable window seat.
Upstairs, there are four bedrooms, with views of the park, plus a magnificent family bathroom with an original bath and terrazzo walls and floor.
The basement level has a bathroom, which needs updating, as well as extensive storage space. "It's bone-dry down here, which shows how well-built this house is," Josca says.
The house is elevated, with a bush-lined main driveway that winds up from where Golf Rd forks away to Fern Ave.
It has another access point, currently a strip of grass, closer to the park. It culminates at a gate that leads to a paved utility area, near the pool.
Future owners may want to convert this area into further vehicle access.
Josca says she and Robert loved this house, but as she is now on her own she has no need for such a large family home.
She has two daughters based overseas - Saskia lives in Manhattan and her sister Martine in Amsterdam - and is looking forward to travelling and spending more time with them.
