Mt Albert: Family values

A Mt Albert home has grown with its family of 25 years.

11 Alexis Avenue, Mount Albert.

Mount Albert's Golden Triangle is a haven of tree-lined streets and classic 1920s and 30s Californian bungalows. Where other neighbourhoods have faced cycles of gentle rundown followed by frantic re-gentrification, this is a rare corner of Auckland that has remained gracious. One almost expects to see vintage cars and ladies in hats and gloves parading its streets.

Marie and Geoff Dale's restored bungalow may not boast the ladies in hats, but it does feature a vintage car in the garage. And when Geoff bought the house nearly 25 years ago, it still boasted a few too many other original features, like a loo on the back porch and one tiny bench in the old kitchen.

"We had two toddlers and a new baby at that stage," says Marie. "I wouldn't move in until Geoff promised to do the kitchen right away."

Over time the couple added to their family - they have five children - and restored the house to its classic glory. The Dales had been drawn to the history of the house - they were only the third family to live there and planned to put down roots where their children could grow up with plenty of room, as the two earlier families had done.

It reminded Geoff of the lovely old houses he'd grown up in around Remuera, where families all knew each other.

The couple painstakingly sanded back architraves to their original woodwork, installed a period-style kitchen of tawa and recycled kauri and modernised the bathroom. Beautiful features remained - a wide welcoming front porch and hallway, big square bay windows in the living room and master bedroom, lead-light window glass, a bevelled glass front door. To the formal entry porch and living room at the front of the house, the Dales added more informal living and, at the back, afternoon decks. The family-sized kitchen has a new cooker and hood added only last year, and the dining space, which is warmed by a fire in winter, is a welcoming central gathering place for their extended family and friends. It opens through the back French doors to the deck for summer barbecues. Another fire is the cosy focal point of the formal lounge.

The enviable wide flat front lawn features a huge mature tree, fruiting plums and feijoas and is a kid's dream yard: plenty of room for the cricket and tennis games (miraculously, the leadlights have survived the odd ball) and bike riding.. As the kids grew to more space-hungry teens, Geoff and Marie added a second bathroom, a guest room and restored an existing basement storeroom to a large teen bedroom/games space.

Geoff and Marie run their photography and gift card business from a pretty sun-room office opening off the formal lounge. With all but two of their kids now flown the nest, it is time for Geoff and Marie to downsize to a smaller house, freeing up their much admired classic home for its next family's 20-year stay.

Vital Statistics

BEDROOMS: 4

BATHROOMS: 2

GARAGE: 1+

SIZE: Land 696sq m, house 160sq m.

PRICE INDICATION: CV $465,000. Interest expected in excess of $800,000. Auction November 30.

INSPECT: Sat/Sun 2-2.45pm.

CONTACT: Anne Duncan, Anne Duncan Real Estate, ph 846 9470, 021 996 426, or Greg Whitta, ph 021 992 612.

FEATURES: 1920s bungalow over two levels, with mature garden. Two living spaces opening on to porches. Ground floor storage and plenty of off street parking. Zoned for Gladstone Primary School. Within a stone's throw of Ferndale Kindergarten, also walking distance to Mt Albert Grammar School, Marist College and Marist Primary School.