KEY POINTS:
2/18 Shelly Beach Road, St Marys Bay.
Vincent Naidu thought he'd found the perfect apartment - but there was one small thing he overlooked.
The two-bedroom flat was in St Marys Bay, one of Auckland's most sought-after suburbs and about as close as a suburb gets to the CBD, where he works. It was quiet; set back from Shelly Beach Road but a short walk from the cafes, restaurants and bars of Ponsonby and Herne Bay. It was tastefully furnished in earthy colours, with an oiled tawa wooden floor in the living areas and a sparkling new kitchen. And it had a fern-surrounded deck out the back for soaking up summer evenings, with a small shell-strewn path area with a washing line. It was, however, easy to maintain - which was important since he works some long days in his job as a partner in a law firm.
So he bought it and moved in at the beginning of the year. He wasted little time adding a few "bare necessities" such as a broadband internet connection and an enormous aerial on the roof for the best possible television reception.
But he'd underestimated just how much room a boisterous three-year-old boy would take up.
Though the apartment comfortably entertained plenty of his friends and family on any given night, it seemed to shrink when Vincent's son Zacharey came to visit. Vincent found himself walking the boy down to a nearby park and to Pt Erin Baths at the end of the road to divert him.
"He's so used to his grandparents' house - they have six bedrooms. He needs a lot of leg room."
So Vincent took to spending time with Zacharey at his parents' home, where there was a lot more space to kick around in.
Now, although he hasn't even been there long enough to hang all of his pictures on the walls, Vincent's decided that it makes sense for him to look for a bigger place - though he'd dearly love to stay in the area. "I don't know if there are that many places in Auckland that have the mix of restaurants with so many different types of cuisine and interesting shops. I love the fact that I'm not right in the city but I have all the advantages. "
He reckons the apartment would suit a family with a school-age child - but perhaps not such an energetic three-year-old. Though Zacharey's outgrown it, the flat makes good use of its 69sq m, with two double bedrooms, a bathroom with a large sculpted vanity, a nook that neatly fits the dining table, a living area that opens on to the deck and a small laundry.
But its most impressive feature has to be the kitchen, with its generous storage space, top-quality appliances and large island that separates the kitchen from the living area. The island doubles as a breakfast bar, with an overhang to accommodate a few bar stools.
Vincent says it's a good cohesive space for entertaining - the food gets spread out on the island and friends can spread out on the couches in rest of the living room.
