SCHOOL ZONES:
Pukekohe East School, Pukekohe Intermediate School, Pukekohe High School.
CONTACT:
Scott McElhinney, Barfoot & Thompson, 021 210 8887.
AUCTION:
5pm, July 29, Pukekohe Raceway, Manukau Rd, Pukekohe.
Scottish couple Brian and Noreen Henderson thought they'd be happiest living in the city when they moved to Auckland from Aberdeen 12 years ago.
But when they began looking at property, they fell for a house in rural Pukekohe East -- it reminded them of one they'd lived in at home.
The Hendersons already knew Runciman Rd because Brian's sister had lived there for several years.
The 1920s bungalow with its high studs, wooden panelled doors and cast iron, tiled fireplaces was similar to a red sandstone Victorian house they had owned for 16 years and renovated in Stonehaven, south of Aberdeen.
Brian says when they bought the bungalow it consisted of a parlour, kitchen, two bedrooms and two lean-tos that had been built on as a boot room and pantry. Previous owners had also added an unsympathetic extension during the 1970s.
"It was a small house and definitely needed work, but it had a homely, comfortable and familiar feel that appealed to us," says Brian.
The Hendersons lived there with their young son Calum for 18 months while they tried to decide on a renovation that would suit their modern lifestyle, without sacrificing the original home's character.
After realising they were too fixed in their thinking, they worked with a few different architects but could not settle on a good plan.
Eventually a local architectural designer came up with a simple design that seamlessly connected the old part of the home with a 40sq m extension and included gutting the 1970s structure and raising its stud height to three metres.
The original east-facing kitchen had been sunny in the morning but was cold and dark by midday in the winter.
Image 1 of 5: This extensively renovated 1920s bungalow will reward its new owner.
So a new open-plan kitchen, dining room, large family room and study were located at the north end of the house, which is now about 200sq m and includes four bedrooms, a separate formal lounge, media room, two bathrooms and a laundry.
The renovation, which Brian says "came with a cost but with a huge reward", includes polished wooden floors in the open plan living areas, custom-made rimu doors and high skirting boards, and state-of-the-art kitchen appliances and cabinetry.
Other features include two heat pumps, wall heaters, a wood-burning wetback fireplace in the main lounge and a master bedroom in what had been the kitchen.
Outside the Hendersons made the most of their one-hectare site, which has wide rural views.
A covered deck opens off french doors from the home's main living area and steps down to a level lawn that leads to a heated saltwater swimming pool. The pool is surrounded by an outdoor dining area with a pergola and a Scandinavian-style pool house with stained pine tongue-and-groove walls.
The fenced property, which is about 6km from Pukekohe township, also includes an orchard, vegetable gardens, native planting, a double garage, wood shed, workshop and barn.
Brian says that although Pukekoke has grown considerably over the decade they have lived there, parts of it still have a quaint, rural feel and it is also developing a good cafe culture.
Now that Calum is 15, the Hendersons plan to move closer to the main town to a smaller property, which will give them more time to enjoy travelling.
