Art deco darling - Parnell

15 Canterbury Plc, Parnell.

From a certain angle, this art deco home looks like a gleaming ocean liner of yesteryear, cleaving the sky with its spectacular curves.

So it seems appropriate that this house has marked some important legs in the journey of its current owners. Rebecca Lucas (co-owner of Ponsonby gifts and homewares store Tessuti and the L'Occitane toiletries New Zealand franchise) was pregnant with her first child while she oversaw its renewal.

She and her husband moved into the transformed home six weeks after daughter Mischa was born.

The couple fell for this house two and a half years ago. Rebecca says, ``We saw this sunny, rundown deco house on a great site and saw the potential in it.''

They rented it to a group of six students while they consulted their friend, architect Richard Priest, on how best to rejuvenate it.

When Kenneth Aimer designed the home for the Wakeman family in the 30s its originality and superior fittings were lauded in design magazines. The couple wanted to maintain its character while updating it to keep pace with the lifestyle requirements of this century.

The original envelope of the solidly-built plaster home has barely been changed, bar one extension to the second lounge. Curving front decks were added to anchor the home and space opened up inside by amalgamating pokier rooms.

That potted description makes it sound like a simple job, but major construction was involved as the home was totally re-piled, re-wired, re-plumbed, fully insulated and jacked up for about a month while the internal access double garage was excavated below.

Deco features inside were kept where possible but the rest of the interior was totally redecorated. Rebecca was there every step of the way, overseeing progress even when heavily pregnant.

``A lot of the builders would get the giggles helping me - with my belly and my gumboots - onto platforms and up ladders.''

``Grand'' is the word that springs to mind approaching the elevated home, with its electric gates and exterior stairs topped with chrome balustrades leading to the front door and front deck.

The entrance hall boasts a drop-dead-gorgeous deco swirl of a staircase illuminated by a vintage chandelier.

The formal lounge has a deco mirror atop a fireplace honed many years ago from Whangarei marble. Next door the open plan dining room, kitchen and informal lounge team 30s veneered furniture with a modern white kitchen gleaming with stainless steel benches.

The master bedroom wing upstairs is a sophisticated retreat complete with opulent velvet curtains, dressing room and polished en suite.

The sumptuous fabrics used throughout are Rebecca's touch, but some of the home's most eye-catching features were here from its conception. Its striking curves draw the eye whether you are inside or outdoors, as do spectacular views of the city and harbour.

The home includes three more bedrooms, two further bathrooms and a study. Its overhaul has enabled easy access to the decks and flat rear lawn and has equipped it with plentiful storage.

A year on from the renovation, Mischa's a bundle of activity and Rebecca's somewhat bemused to find herself selling the home she thought she'd never leave.

``When my husband found out I was pregnant again he decided he wanted to live on a beach,'' she quips. ``So that's where we're off to.''

VITAL STATISTICS

BEDROOMS: 4

BATHROOMS: 3

GARAGES: 2

SIZE: Land 718sq m, house 331sq m.

PRICE INDICATION: Offers expected in the region of $3 million. Tenders close this Wednesday, August 23.

INSPECT: By appointment.

ON THE WEB: www.harcourts.co.nz # PS060712

CONTACT: Linda Galbraith, Harcourts, ph 369 5098 bus, 021 966 028 mob.

FEATURES: Elevated, north-facing home which epitomises the elegance of the art deco period. Fully renovated in keeping with its era, and to make the most of its sun and panoramic views.