31 Kingsview Road, Mt Eden.
After 15 years of living around the world - the last seven in Perth - Chris and Tracy Kane were ready to settle back home and bring up their kids as Kiwis.
And with son Johnathan, 12, coming up to high school age (daughter Natalie is 10)
they were pretty clear about where they had to be.
"We wanted to be in Grammar zone, but also close to the city and not out in the suburbs somewhere," says Chris. "We'd lived in China, England and France before Australia and we wanted somewhere we could settle and be handy to everything, so that the kids could get around."
The couple also needed plenty of space - they'd collected some great pieces of furniture in their travels which needed a suitable setting, and, after years of living in new houses or anonymous apartments, wanted a home with character.
They started last November, but by March were beginning to weary of their search.
"We'd come close to making an offer a couple of times," Tracey says. "But the houses just didn't feel quite right. But the minute we saw this it clicked for all of us. We loved it and felt at home straight away."
The renovated 1910 house, featured in Heraldhomes on March 11, had the best of both worlds: the size, high ceilings and charming fireplaces of an old house, with the modern appeal of a brand new kitchen and bathrooms. There was plenty of space for everyone.
A nailbiting auction with three of four other serious bidders was a new experience for Chris and Tracy, but luckily the house was declared on the market at exactly the price they'd hoped to pay and it was theirs.
The only changes the family plan to make are to expand the dining room to fit their enormous eight-seater dining table, and there is some talk of a spa-pool. The family is loving being back in New Zealand and entertaining outdoors. Even the family pets, boxer-ridgeback Jack and ragdoll cat Leopold, will fit right in to their new surroundings.
Sold by: Anna Copeland and Lisa Pringle, Unlimited Potential, ph 631 7720 or 631 5180.
