Entertaining starts in Herne Bay

33 Wallace St, Herne Bay. Photo / Hannah Johnston

33 WALLACE ST HERNE BAY

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SIZE: Land 675sq m, house approximately 228sq m.

PRICE INDICATION: CV $1.62m (2008). Auction Oct 14, unless sold prior.

INSPECT: Sat/Sun 12-12.40pm, October 14, 12-1pm (before auction), or by appointment.

ON THE WEB: www.premium.co.nz/HRN30676

SCHOOL ZONES: Bayfield School, Ponsonby Intermediate, Auckland Girls' Grammar School, Western Springs College.

CONTACT: Cathy Roselli, Premium Herne Bay, mob 021 750 454, work 360 6996.

FEATURES: Renovated return-veranda villa with fenced pool with electric walk-on cover, elevated decks and off-street parking. Big, open-plan living areas including library and lounge and indoor and outdoor dining.

It's not a particularly catchy sequel title but the Bennetts couldn't have been happier living at 33 Wallace St - Mark II.

This is the second time Michelle and Aidan Bennett have lived at the address - initially flatting as a young couple and then taking ownership for the past 16 or so years.

Michelle's folks bought the turn-of-the-century villa, configured as two flats, around 1980, tenanting it until they were ready to move there from the countryside. Michelle and Aidan rented its one-bedroom portion for a spell, before buying a Westmere house and having daughters Courtney and Ashleigh. In 1994, when her parents realised they didn't want to leave their community, the couple were keen to buy it. Michelle says: "We just loved the location, being so handy to everything, and we knew Bayfield Primary would be a great school for our girls." The Bennetts' printing and advertising graphics company Benefitz is on the North Shore and they can be on the bridge within two minutes.

"We wanted to turn it into a really beautiful family villa that our family could grow up in ... We had our architect draw up the plans so we could do it in about five stages, including going up around the late 90s."

The villa had been extensively modified in earlier years, but the couple have reinstated it as a return-veranda villa, adding elements such as the smart kitchen only about four years ago. They've ensured the rear grounds are now resort-like, having previously been taken up with an old garage and an ancient laundry shed.

The attractive villa has big covered verandas with ornate fretwork and a low-picket fence delivering lovely openness from the street.

There's expansive off-street parking incorporated into the lawned front yard and on the side driveway, although future owners may choose to dedicate some space to a garage.

The central hall with polished floors is flanked by three bedrooms, one of which opens to the veranda and another currently used by the couple as a TV room. Further down the hall, past the staircase, is a massive storage cache of cupboards, an in-cupboard laundry with bench space, a separate toilet and the elegant family bathroom with clawfoot bath.

The house opens up into generous open-plan living, expansive enough for a couple of seating areas. Doors can close the living area off from the hallway but also previously worked well in a different location, dividing the open-plan area into two parts.

A lounge space opens to the side veranda alongside the library area, which extends up a wall and incorporates a sliding library ladder.

The rear sitting area has bifolds opening up to the rear deck as well as the dining area alongside - complemented by al fresco dining on the elevated deck. The modern kitchen incorporates an extra-wide island bench with composite bench top. There's a suite of stainless appliances amidst capacious cabinetry, housing a 90cm-wide stove flanked by stainless steel side benches.

The roomy master suite upstairs opens to decks with views to the Harbour Bridge and has a walk-through wardrobe, double-basin en suite and extra storage. Generous rear grounds include lawns and easy-care tropical gardens around the saltwater pool, with walk-on electric cover and pool house built in keeping.

Now that their daughters have grown, the family home is really too large for the couple and their pets.