SCHOOL ZONES:
Ponsonby Primary, Ponsonby
Intermediate, Western Springs College and
Auckland Girls' Grammar.
CONTACT:
Richard White and Christopher Dunn,
Harcourts Epsom, Richard ph 021 0518404 or
Christopher 021 520304.
FEATURES:
Renovated 1940s/50s single-storey
rendered brick and tile home with landscaped
gardens, open-plan living, private courtyard
entertainment area and heated in-ground pool.
Hospitality industry executive Roselyn Storey runs her life back to front. She works on Waiheke Island and retreats to her sanctuary in the heart of the suburban inner city.
Most of us generally hanker for the opposite kind of work/life balance, but Roselyn has pulled hers together with a good deal of thanks owed to the way this home has supported her lifestyle on the cityside of the harbour.
She has been here eight years and tweaked this home to suit her, yet she still doesn't quite know why the vibe behind these walls has managed so successfully to get under her skin.
"They are two completely different lifestyles really, here and on Waiheke, and this suits me perfectly. I don't even know what it is but I hate the idea of losing this place even though I know I really need to be closer to the inner city for the ferry commute to Waiheke."
On one of St Marys Bay's arterial routes, this place is quiet because it is hunkered down behind a concrete fence with the garage at the front.
Two of the three bedrooms open to a veranda along the north face. The large lounge, integrated dining area and kitchen are all oriented to the rear deck and pool.
Trees, including mature titoki and potted palms soften the perimeter.
"It's private and it's so easy to live in and you don't ever feel as if you're in the city," says Roselyn. "I'm around people all day at work and when I come back here I tend to be quite selfish with my time and quite reclusive really. I love to shut my door and relax because my days off are so rare. It really is my sanctuary."
Along the way, Roselyn has tweaked and fine-tuned the formerly well-renovated 1940s/50s rendered brick and tile home, bringing plenty of personal renovation and new-build experience here and in Australia into the picture.
"This place was already very lovely to walk into. It really did only need the finishing touches," she explains. "It certainly wasn't a grand do up."
The key elements, from the date palms that flank the front path to the floor plan of the house, were all in place by the time Roselyn arrived.
Inside, her touches include removing the lounge's solid, "daunting" built-in shelving to lighten the mood, choosing elegant glossy tiles for the previously carpeted hallway, fitting out two new bathrooms and installing an office.
Roselyn, who loves Asian themes in her interiors, likes her bathrooms to be a one-person only affair, in keeping with the sense of sanctuary elsewhere in her home. Her spacious main bathroom has one basin with plenty of bench space and a big tiled shower (with rain showerhead) rather than twin vanities and what she so often sees as the inevitable compromise of a smaller shower squeezed into leftover space.
In her garage she cribbed space for an office with a door off her bedroom. Roselyn says that this office could easily be removed and the garage returned from the single that it is currently to the original double space with the double garage door. Inside the garage, an attic ladder allows full use of storage space in the roof.
Outdoors, facing east, it is her home's expansive connection to the rear tiled courtyard, barbecue and heated in-ground pool that takes everyone's breath away. Potted palms and a sailcloth ensure privacy.
Her kitchen, which was installed by the previous owners, with its timber/lacquered cabinetry and double-thick granite bench is perfectly equipped to cater for entertaining on any scale.
"It's pretty cool here, really," she says. "This is one place that is going to be hard to leave."
