Sandringham: Added value

Part of the house used to be a cobbler's shop, and Mark discovered some old tools and shoe lasts when the shop was unlocked.

64 Paice Avenue, Sandringham

Buying a house at the height of the real estate boom in 2002 was not easy for Mark and Rose Darling. They had missed out on several when Mark came upon a 1906 villa in up and coming Sandringham. Retro-clad in fake clinker brick and dilapidated, it was not a pretty sight, and the former cobbler's shop attached to the northern corner had been locked up for 40 years.

Three years later it is a house transformed. The shop was past saving as damp and borer had combined to rot it from the ground up. In its place Mark, working alongside professional builders, erected a new extension that now houses the living areas of the home. Horizontal windows high on the 5m-high wall are placed above head height to ensure privacy on what is the street edge of the property. Although these, and all the new joinery at the rear of the house, are aluminium, their detailing and the way they are recessed like traditional joinery ensures they fit into the hundred-year-old structure. Their position in this north facing end wall allows sunshine to stream in from morning to evening as the sun moves round the building, gently heating the exposed aggregate concrete floor and allowing the interior to stay pleasantly warm after dark.

To the west of this new extension, large French doors lead to a landscaped courtyard which is so sheltered that it serves as an extra living room virtually all the year round. Although wide street views and sunsets can be seen from the steps leading to this, no-one can look in.

It is here that the Darling family spend time together, leaving the front yard with its high stone walls to double as a back yard. This is so roomy that the Darling children have had a nice little earner on match nights at nearby Eden Park by renting out carpark space.

Elliott, Millie and Ruby all have their own big bedrooms in the restored villa, with a generously proportioned bathroom in what was once the kitchen. In one side of the new kitchen a well thought out laundry disappears behind a sliding wall. As it disappears a home office appears. At the end of the hall and wrapping round the westerly side of the courtyard is Rose and Mark's sunny, private space. From this French doors lead out to a part of the courtyard which acts as an extension of their bedroom.

While small details remain to be done , all the hard work is finished.

The Darlings are off to do something completely different - embrace a world adventure as a family before the children grow up and leave the nest.

Vital Statistics

BEDROOMS: 4

BATHROOMS: 2

GARAGE: Off street plus site for a garage

SIZE: Land 630sq m, house 145sq m (approx).

PRICE INDICATION: Upwards of $500,000. Auction November 24.

INSPECT: Sat/Sun 1-1.45pm.

CONTACT: Justine Koning or Godfrey Twigden, Unlimited Potential, ph 631 5538, 0275 956 108 (Justine), 021 624 388 (Godfrey).

FEATURES: Family villa renovated with a clever combination of modern and character features. Still room to add value. Close to Balmoral School and Eden Park.