A perfect patch of turf

38 Webber Street, Westmere

38 WEBBER ST, WESTMERE

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SIZE: Land 640sq m, house 186sq m

PRICE INDICATION: Upwards of early $2 millions.

INSPECT: Sat/Sun 1-1.30pm or viewing by appointment.

ON THE WEB: barfoot.co.nz/569397

SCHOOL ZONES: Westmere primary, Ponsonby Intermediate, Western Springs College.

CONTACT: Sherryl Jones, 021 122 3651, or Jack Atherton, 021 739 655, Barfoot & Thompson.

AUCTION: May 25.

Tim and Jo Parkman found their perfect patch of turf right next to Cox's Bay Reserve and the perfect home to suit across town in Greenlane.

But there was no coin tossing required in deciding where to live. When they compared the charm of the Greenlane villa with the basic features of the 1947 ex-state house on their Westmere site, they knew what they had to do. The little two-bedroom weatherboard home that had housed them and their children Hannah (13) and Nick (11) for eight months had nothing more to offer them.

"We love character homes and there was just not enough about that house that was redeemable. The villa had the high stud and all the character and we knew it could be modernised," says Jo. A feasibility study undertaken by their architect Jackie Sue ticked all the right boxes. The little house was moved off site and their villa that briefly became the house of two halves was transported across town, arriving here at 2am one February morning in 2014.

The villa was cut down the middle along one side of the central hallway to keep the kauri floor and the decorative textured plaster ceiling intact.

Up on jenga-style blocks awaiting the arrival of the building team, the house greatly intrigued their neighbours, who were out with their torches, although Tim and Jo weren't there to see it positioned on site, living in Karaka during the reconstruction.

In every respect this villa has been a perfect fit all round. It has been set back from the front to allow off-street parking in front of the new double garage, with its veranda access into the house. So much of this house is original, including its footprint that has a bay window in the front sitting room and one on the side in the master bedroom.

Image 1 of 6: Two halves made a home of this relocated villa now sitting right next to Coxs Bay Reserve.

The lounge opens through new sliding doors to the rear deck. The stepped down dining area opens to existing French doors.

All the windows including the villa sash windows are original except for two new windows installed in each of the two tiled bathrooms. The high 3m-plus stud height adds ambiance to the family bathroom with its restored 1910 claw foot bath.

In the master bedroom, Tim and Jo cribbed space from the original sunroom for an en suite. The rest of the space on the other side of the wall is wardrobe space for the front bedroom.

Double doors open from the hallway into the reconfigured living area. The redesign created a walk-in pantry alongside the kitchen where demolition bricks sourced from a Grey Lynn villa were used for the splashback. They'd had something similar in their London home and Jo, who was the project manager here, held on to that characterful idea from day one. Sarking on the adjacent wall was handpicked from the best of the demolition timber on site here. Similar care was taken with both new and replicated period features from the ceiling roses to the skirting boards, the finials to the lacy veranda fretwork.

Jo knew nothing about villas before all of this. "Only that I loved them. The love was there. We really wanted to bring this house to life." On the back of their recently launched digital marketing business, they've decided to pitch themselves head first into another building project somewhere not too far from here. "We just really want to do it all again," says Jo.