Ponsonby: Positive focus

A character villa bought from overseas had more character than the new owners bargained for, writes Suzanne McFadden

67 SUSSEX ST, PONSONBY. The moral of this story is: never believe everything you see in a photograph.

International photographer Desmond Burdon has an eye for seeing the big picture; he is a master of digital retouching. When he bought a house in Ponsonby down the phone from London, he had only seen it in photos, but visualised renovating the villa into a family home.

When he and his family arrived in New Zealand last November, Irishman Desmond realised the dream needed a little more retouching than he first imagined.

The house, best described as a "do-up", was liveable, but its eclectic mix of design styles - ranging from original 1920s features to kitsch 70s burnt orange glass - meant there was a lot of work required to bring it into the 2000s.

That wouldn't have been such a problem - Desmond's wife, Dunedin-born Pauline McCoy, is an architect. But the couple soon realised they wanted to move further out of the city, after decades living and working in the heart of London in an old Victorian school within spitting distance of Big Ben.

Big cities have always loomed large in Desmond's life. Born in Syria of Irish parentage, he grew up in Athens, Cairo, Rome and Ireland, before moving to London at 18 to study photography.

He became internationally renowned for his advertising work, perfecting an individual style of digital retouching. In the past 20 years, his clients have included all the big brand names - Cadbury, Honda, American Express, Rolex, Eastman Kodak and Jameson Whiskey among them.

Highly regarded for his travel and location images, Desmond travelled to 40 countries a year on photo shoots. But as he approached his 50th birthday, he decided it was time to take a break. After a year living in Bali, Desmond, Pauline and their two sons - Orlando, 4, and Levi, 1 - came to Auckland to make a new life.

"I always said I would make my money in London then return home to Ireland. But my parents have now passed away, and there was nothing to take me back there," Desmond says.

"We started coming to New Zealand to visit Pauline's family, but before that I knew nothing about New Zealand, other than butter, sheep and my wife came from here - in no particular order. When I came here, I really felt like it was the Ireland I knew when I was a kid. I love it here."

The couple fell in love with Titirangi, and have now bought the house they were renting there, putting the Sussex Street house back up for sale.

Desmond is the first to admit the 1924 villa has dramatic potential. The house comes with an architect's plan to renovate the existing three-bedroom-plus-study layout. It has charming features to hold on to: timber floors, leadlight windows and ornate ceiling cornices. The original kauri doors, which were once removed, have been safely stored under the house.

In the 1970s, the house was given a "modernisation", with aluminium windows and conservatory, a glassed-in front entrance and another room at the back of the house - features that a renovator would probably do without.

But there is plenty of room on the elevated section at the back of the property to extend the house and create a private outdoor entertaining space. Out front are two garages and a wide driveway.

After a year's break from behind the lens, Desmond is getting the itch to pick up his camera again. But the globetrotting days are long gone - his feet are now firmly planted in Kiwi soil.

Vital Statistics

SIZE: Land 526sq m, house 110sq m.

PRICE INDICATION: CV $435,000. Auction June 8.

INSPECT: Sat/Sun 2pm-2.45pm.

CONTACT: Angela Saunders, Meo Realty, ph 021 448 900.

FEATURES: Affordable entry home into Ponsonby. Plentiful off-street parking, full section, native timber floors and doors.