Freemans Bay: A cottage tardis

Actor and director Paul Gittins will be sorry to leave his cottage home, but wants someone else to love it as much as he has. Picture / Geoff Dale

There's more to this workman's dwelling in Freemans Bay than meets the eye.

When actor and director Paul Gittins started looking for a house in Ponsonby about 10 years ago he knew what he wanted - something that was quiet, close to the action and relatively inexpensive, because his budget at the time was a little tight.

When he walked into the worker's cottage he has just put on the market, he knew that he had found all he wanted.

"At the time I was looking for something central, cosy, easy to live in and restful," he says.

This little cottage had it all, says Paul, who is known to New Zealanders for his role as Dr McKenna in TV soap Shortland Street and the series Epitaph. He also works in live theatre and has appeared in films.

Now it's time for Paul to move on and he's selling the Collingwood St property to fund his "island project" - the development of a house on Rakino Island.

"I'm going to be sorry to leave this behind, but I want to develop my Rakino place and leave this for someone to love as much as I have."

From the outside the house is very deceptive - it looks like little more than a tiny cottage nestled among some carefully renovated inner-city villas and new homes.

But step inside and, like Dr Who's tardis, it surprises on three levels of well-considered space and thoughtful modernisation.

There are shelves and cupboards everywhere and loads of light.

"I've had a few parties here and you'd be surprised at how many people can fit in."

Just inside the door is Paul's workspace, which leads to two bedrooms and a bathroom. The light here is marvellous, and even though it is on street level it's very quiet.

Down a level and you are in a comfy living area that combines a kitchen, lounge and dining area with an eight-seater table.

Paul says he had often been tempted to sand back the kauri floorboards, but never got round to it.

"They've been here for around 100 years so I guess they'll be here a bit longer."

Like many renovated kitchens, this one has a great bench where Paul says guests like to "lean and yak" while he is making dinner.

Not everyone would like the green formica, he says, but it adds to the character.

Even better is the big deck off this level, which allows guests to stand over the lawn and almost in the canopies of the beautiful trees. The lawn slopes across to a valley and more trees before reaching the line of houses on Anglesea St.

One of the trees is a magnificent magnolia, which Paul says always has a flower or two on it. The other trees are deciduous and open up the section to the light in winter. "Apart from the cicadas and birds, it's a very quiet place."

Vital Statistics

ADDRESS: 37 Collingwood St, Freemans Bay.

FEATURES: Workman's cottage; three bedrooms; two bathrooms; wooden floors; open-plan living, kitchen and dining opening to large, sunny deck; good storage; space to add off-street parking; leafy, private, garden with mature trees.

AUCTION: March 9. Interest expected from $500,000.

AGENT: Angela Saunders, Meo Realty. Ph 021 448 900 mob.