SCHOOL ZONES:
Edendale School, Kowhai Intermediate, Mt Albert Grammar School.
CONTACT:
Tricia Lafferty, 021 611 205, or Kym Aikin, 021 596 222, Ray White.
AUCTION:
August 10 (unless sold prior).
*Plus plenty of off-street parking
Singer/songwriter Hinewehi Mohi has no problem remembering when she and husband George Bradfield bought their Sandringham home.
"We did everything in 2000 so we could easily remember the date -- we bought a house, we got married and we got a dog," says Hinewehi with a laugh. "It was quite a busy year."
Their home of 16 years is an elevated and sunny bungalow, something that helped to overturn George's doubts about buying a character home
"I was a bit reluctant to go for an older home initially because they have a reputation for being cold and damp," he says. "But that's more the villas and this one has been good and we've got insulation in it of course."
In their time here the couple have updated the interiors, created outdoor living at the rear and turned the old garage at the back of the property into a sleepout/studio.
They've also renewed the driveway, which leads into the neatly landscaped section with a palm tree and cabbage tree flanking the covered entrance to the character home.
Two north-facing bedrooms front the house, one the master, which shares a walk-in wardrobe and en suite with the bedroom behind it, and the other bedroom has been set up as an office. This sunny room has french doors opening to a balcony overlooking the street with a wide view across the suburb and back to Mt Eden. The office has sliding doors on the opposite wall that connect with the lounge, which has a window seat and gas fire.
Across the hallway is the bedroom that shares the en suite and wardrobe with the master and further on there is a smaller bedroom on the way to the laundry and main bathroom with spa bath.
On the other side of the house, the kitchen has timber floors complemented by wooden cabinetry and benchtops. This space has french doors opening out to a large, covered deck.
Image 1 of 7: Plenty of space for family gatherings in this warm character home. Photos / Ted Baghurst
"We completely redid the back of the house," says George. "We put in the deck and we turned the old garage into a sleepout. This deck has been a great addition because you can open up the back of the house for family gatherings and with the roll-down screens you can sit outside even in Auckland weather."
Mature trees, including palms, help to form the boundary of the property, which has artificial grass in the backyard, something that George says has been a blessing now that they have three dogs.
The sleepout is a modern, carpeted space that would be ideal as a workspace or teenage retreat.
The house has also been adapted the to the needs of daughter Hineraukatauri, who has cerebral palsy and needs easy wheelchair access.
A hoist at the rear of the house makes that possible and there is one in her bedroom that travels into the shared en suite.
Hinewehi says they have also had to widen doorways and make floors as level as possible.
About four years after they bought their home, the couple founded the Raukatauri Music Therapy Centre, named after Hineraukatauri, which helps children and adults with physical, intellectual, behavioural, developmental or emotional issues.
The inspiration for that came from a visit to London where Hinewehi was promoting her album Oceania. Her producer Jazz Coleman, of the band Killing Joke, convinced her to visit a music therapy centre there and the rest is history.
Hinewehi says their next move is to Havelock North to be closer to family. The couple have bought a lifestyle property on the outskirts of town and Hinewehi says they are hoping to set up a satellite music therapy centre in the Hawkes Bay.
