Scratch the surface of most busy working people and you'll probably find a dream to give it all away and follow their creative hearts. Only thing is, most of us never get past the dream part.
Meet Paul Burge, who with his wife, Sally, ditched the finance career, began painting, and moved from one side of Auckland to the other.
"We'd brought up the children in Howick, then we were in Remuera. But as I was coming into retirement I was burned out. I found art - painting, drawing, photography, and studied for four years at Art Station in Ponsonby," says Paul.
"I did an exhibition at Depot in Devonport and that got the ball rolling."
At that point, Sally was teaching in Milford, so the couple's search for a community they could identify with and become part of took a serious turn to the north.
One glimpse of the two-storeyed Arts and Crafts house overlooking Ngataringa Bay, and the pair were smitten.
The charming house, designed by Lloyd Bates in 1931 and with its own boathouse and jetty, was the dream they'd been looking for.
"She was beautiful when we bought her," Sally says. "The native timber floors, the beautiful panelled pocket doors between the living and dining rooms.
"We were told the original owner was a builder in the merchant navy, so everything was shipshape.
"The previous architect owners had renovated, so we just painted the walls white for Paul's art, and added some special Matisse lights."
Sally and Paul have nothing but admiration for the sensitive renovation of the house by architect Amanda Silk.
Her addition of a family room and remodel of the kitchen avoided the all-too-common modern, white box strap-on.
Instead she carefully broke up the mass of the space with a change in levels, framing the north-facing window with period-appropriate columns, repeating the shingle detail and proportions of the main house and the front sun room that is now Paul's studio.
The back porch laundry was shifted to a roomy cupboard, and the focus of the kitchen became an enormous island with deep oak storage drawers and quartz counters.
Amanda had cleverly tucked the cooking mess to one side of the wall, adding an entire wall of storage and still allowing generous circulation spaces.
She even built in a well-proportioned library wall that helps disguise the television.
French doors open to the deck, lawn and an enormous pohutukawa tree.
Amanda recycled old windows torn off in the renovation for the double garage so that it is in keeping with the style of the house.
Sally says that she and Paul debated long and hard before painting the wood beaded panelling in the dining room and entry lobby, but it makes the spaces light and a better backdrop for their art.
The original quirky finishes were kept - the concrete deco-style fireplace surrounded by arched leadlight windows and built-in shelves, the cute bay-windowed breakfast nook off the kitchen and the magnificent banisters, newel posts and oriel window of the original staircase.
The couple called in landscape architect Jo Hamilton to rework the entire garden. She converted the sunny front yard into a delightful courtyard, surrounded by clipped hedges and paved for a table and chairs.
In the back, structure was added with clipped hedges, a paved lounging area and a delightful gate and path down to the water edge.
The cute boat shed on the jetty stores the kayak and paddle boards for summer outings on the sheltered bay, a treat for the seven grandchildren when they visit.
Upstairs are three charming double bedrooms, with pitched ceilings, window seats and built-in closets.
The tiled bathroom, also refurbished by Amanda, is a modern contrast to the old-fashioned style. But just as charming for the couple is that their neighbourhood has given them the community they were looking for 11 years ago.
They love to walk or bike into Devonport and the ferry. The art community has grown around them, the house has been perfect for hosting parties and entertaining.
But they have now decided to downsize to a single-storeyed house for the next stage of their life.
"When you're down on the jetty, looking back at the Harbour Bridge, thinking 'This is Auckland, it's incredible'. We'll miss that," says Paul.
