SCHOOL ZONES:
Devonport Primary, Belmont Intermediate, Takapuna Grammar.
CONTACT:
Ian Cunliffe, Barfoot & Thompson, ph 0800 248 521.
Gerrad hall, the architect behind this expansive redesign of a former state house, charmingly refers to this three-part body of work as "the state house sandwich".
He's talking about the 80sq m original brick dwelling that was the inspirational building block for this dramatic 270sq m home with its double-storey bedroom wing above the garage/entrance, study at the front and dramatic living area pavilion leading out to the north-facing rear grounds.
Designwise, this home is all about native timber floors and a polished concrete floor, original timber joinery and modern floor-to-ceiling black aluminium joinery.
Its form is about its three different rooflines wrapped in brick, now painted white, that matches the textural brick of the original home.
As gerrad explains it, it's about "the language of the state house" while using the otherwise dead space between the original house and the front boundary to add the double height, private street face designed to comply with devonport's town planning character controls.
But, if you'd put that mix of detail down on paper and handed it to pippa wetzell, television's fair go co-host, and her husband, corporate lawyer torrin crowther, when they were house hunting six years ago, pippa, for one, admits she'd have said, "I'm not so sure about all of that."
This was one home, just completed, that had to be seen to be believed, she adds. They did so having sold the villa that they'd lost the will to renovate and bypassed potential homes that lacked the x-factor.
"We didn't know what had hit us when we walked in here. There was this lovely easy warmth here. It was such a lovely, lovely change," says pippa, who was co-hosting breakfast and expecting the second of her three children at the time.
"We had to wait five weeks until the auction and I kept thinking 'people are going through my house!' I think I felt worse about those open homes than I do about these," she laughs.
Presenting her family's private haven to the market comes with a genuinely warm appreciation for how lucky she and torrin have been to have these significant early years with brodie, 7 , cami, 5 and taj, 3, in such a hospitable, functional home.
There's the separate lounge that she calls the "party room" where she loves to set her children's parties and host their own friends. Near the main living area, their children's dedicated living area has drawers for dress-ups, easy-reach bookshelves and a computer station, all in bespoke cabinetry similar in profile to that of their kitchen with its robust, waterfall marble bench.
One of her favourite features is the way the glass sliding doors stack back behind the fireplace, giving it a sense of being outdoors while still part of the brick-clad pavilion. The full-width overhang over the deck deflects the summer sun from the interior and lets winter sun right into the lounge where it enhances the warmth of the heated concrete floor.
Image 1 of 6: Ultra-modern meets state house solidity in Fair Go host's sleek base where children's playtime messes can be swiftly and easily dealt with
The family bathroom has an in-situ concrete bath and concrete vanity. Marble is the feature in the en suite. In the laundry attic stairs offer access to ceiling storage. Off the adjacent back door beside the deck utility area, is a raised vegetable garden.
Pippa's and torrin's projects here included the pool and the landscaping, both of which got them thinking. "We always felt we had a project in us and I said to torrin, 'is this bucket list stuff? If we didn't do it would we always wonder whether it was something we'd have wanted to do?'." His reply? "Well do you think we might end up with exactly the same house in a different location?"
Now they'll find out. They are about to take on a bungalow project elsewhere in devonport, taking with them a significant list of everything about this house that they never intended to leave.
