SCHOOL ZONES:
Newton Central School, Kowhai Intermediate, Western Springs College, Auckland Girls’ Grammar.
CONTACT:
Blair Haddow, Bayleys, 021 544 555 or 375 8411.
AUCTION:
February 24
* Offstreet parking for one car
Jayne and Sean McAnally have only lived in their Grey Lynn villa for five years, but a lot has happened in that time. Since buying the property, the couple have married and become parents to two children -- Rhiannon (2) and Alexander, who is just seven weeks old. And as their circumstances have changed, the house has proved perfect for their needs.
Before they had kids, its location handy to Ponsonby Rd meant they could easily stroll to dozens of cafes, bars and restaurants. "The weekend began on a Thursday night," grins Jayne. The spacious open-plan living area and decks also made the property ideal for entertaining.
When Sean and Jayne got married, they managed to accommodate lots of friends and family from overseas -- Jayne is from the UK -- in the four-bedroom house.
Then when the children arrived, it became a fantastic family home. There's lots of space for the children and all their things, and the private enclosed garden makes a great play area for Rhiannon.
Jayne and Sean have appreciated that the house -- the first they have owned together -- has adapted so well to their changing needs. They wouldn't be moving were it not for the fact that Jayne's parents are planning on spending four to six months a year in New Zealand, and they need more space for them.
"Otherwise we would be staying put," says Jayne. "We love this house."
Much of the hard work in updating the villa, which dates back to around 1904, had already been done when the McAnallys bought it. The biggest job they tackled was changing the deck.
"When we first came it was a funny triangle shape and the stairs down to the garden were basically vertical. It wasn't really connected to the back garden."
Image 1 of 10: Stylish 1900s Grey Lynn villa has been enhanced for modern living. Photos / Fiona Goodall, Getty Images
They squared off the deck, put in a much more user-friendly staircase and built a lower deck on the ground level. The work completely transformed their outdoor living space and now they spend lots of time on the upper deck, which is north-west facing and gets lots of sun, as well as the lower one, which is the perfect spot to keep an eye on Rhiannon playing in the garden.
A majestic old pohutukawa provides much-needed shade on baking hot days, and is one of the reasons Jayne was drawn to the property.
"I loved the tree, and I loved the age of the house. Coming from the UK, I'm used to old houses and this one had so much character."
The house has many typical villa features, like the picket fence, spacious front veranda, wide central hallway, high board-and-batten ceilings (although part of the hall ceiling is pressed tin), wooden floors and sash windows. But it has also been thoughtfully and stylishly enhanced for 21st century living, with a contemporary kitchen and family bathroom, an en suite and walk-in wardrobe in the master bedroom, central heating throughout and a gas fire in the lounge.
Sean and Jayne painted throughout, chose new light fittings and curtains, added a granite breakfast bar and double oven in the kitchen and put in pull-down stairs to the spacious loft, where there is plenty of room for storage.
They have been careful to consider the period features of the house. For example, they put in a traditional wooden mantelpiece around the gas fire, and they had the pattern from original leadlights around the front door replicated in the glass panels in the new front door they had made.
If they had been staying, they would have considered developing the extensive basement area, which is currently used for storage and Sean's wine cellar, but could be transformed into a games or media room, or an office.
They currently use the fourth bedroom as an office and guest accommodation, although it could also make a second living space. Like the lounge, it has doors out to the deck.
"It's such a great house to live in, we will really miss it," says Jayne. "I just hope we can find somewhere really similar in the same area -- we don't want to leave Grey Lynn."
