When Jennifer Tunna started searching for a house to buy nearly six years ago, this Grey Lynn property was the first to catch her eye.
But she was almost too tired to be bothered viewing it after spending just one exhausting day looking through about 15 other properties, none ofwhich felt right.
"I had to drag myself off the couch to come to the open home in the afternoon. When I walked in, I liked it straight away and thought 'there is nothing I want to change'," she says.
Two days later Jennifer made a successful offer for the modest, square-fronted villa in Sackville St which runs between the Ponsonby and Grey Lynn ends of Richmond Rd.
"I got the feeling that this was a good, honest house for a single girl. The roof had just been done, the floors were straight and the house had been reasonably well looked after even though it was tenanted when I bought it."
Jennifer also liked the fact that the house had three good-sized bedrooms, which made it easy for her to find flatmates who lived in the house with her for the first few years.
One prospective flatmate who came to view the house was her now-partner Erik Kampkuiper.
"He didn't move in then, but he did ring me up and invited me to go and have a beer."
Erik and Jennifer now live in the house with their 2-year-old daughter Marlowe.
Although Jennifer was essentially happy with the house, several improvements have been made over the past few years, including a new kitchen and a new deck, which opens off the living area and steps down to a small fenced garden and lawn.
All of the rooms have been repainted, Marlowe's bedroom has been carpeted, the original fireplace has been restored and Jennifer has added several hanging lights including an elegant chandelier in the lounge.
Image 1 of 8: A reluctant viewing led to a home that ticked all the boxes. Photos / Ted Baghurst
The front garden has also been landscaped with a miniature French parterre, box hedging, standard roses and a fountain, and the property is fully fenced.
The simple layout of the 1908 villa includes a central hallway with the bedrooms and bathroom opening off each side and the open-plan living room, dining room and kitchen at the end. A laundry and storage area are downstairs.
Marlowe's bedroom, to the left of the front door, has French doors that open out to a small verandah.
The master bedroom on the other side of the hall is larger than the usual double bedroom as it incorporates what would originally have been one side of the front verandah.
Jennifer says the open-plan living room works well as she and Erik can work in the kitchen while keeping an eye on Marlowe.
The kitchen has pleasant views out to the back garden and to neighbouring trees, so although the house is on a cross-leased site, it feels private and roomy.
Since having Marlowe, Jennifer has also enjoyed living in a neighbourhood that includes several other families with young children.
