SCHOOL ZONES:
Ponsonby Primary, Ponsonby Intermediate and Western Springs College.
CONTACT:
Martin Dobson, 021 376 952 and Caroline Daniel, 021 922 223, Kellands.
Becs Bradley has an old photo of her house surrounded by farmland. Which isn't unusual, except when you consider her picture-perfect house is in St Mary's Bay, one of Auckland's oldest suburbs.
Becs and her husband Scott had been living nearby in Herne Bay when they were captivated by this house and its large garden when it came on the market four years ago.
A Herald Homes story published at the time told how then-owner Margaret Parker and her late husband Ron had bought 7 Selby Square in 1964 from Miss Sutherland, a former beauty queen. The house had been built for a Captain Brook in the 1880s and had also been home to the Bennett family, who had 16 children and a drapery shop.
In the 1930s the house was converted into two flats -- a two-bedroom one downstairs and three-bedroom accommodation occupying the two uppermost levels. It was still configured that way when Becs and Scott came to live here with their family in the winter of 2012. As Becs recalls, there was a lot about the house that was original, including its footings and lack of insulation.
"We were sitting here with duvets around us as we were freezing," Becs says. "And then all of a sudden Scott's wine glass slid away on the table as the house was on such a lean."
Becs' son Ollie was 8 at the time and the couple's daughters Ava and Bella were tiny -- Ava was 2 and Bella only 3 months. The family lived here for five weeks and then moved out to make way for an extensive renovation project that took seven months.
Image 1 of 7: Full of history and memories, this modernised classic still has room to grow. Photos / Ted Baghurst
"It needed much more work than we realised," says Becs. "The house has been completely rebuilt and re-framed from the inside."
A priority was to link the two flats into one big family home again by inserting an internal staircase to connect all three levels. The footprint of the house is largely unchanged, save for an old porch to the rear which was "brought inside" and turned into a tiled bathroom on the ground floor.
The old kitchen of the upstairs flat, with a beautiful stained-glass window, was converted into a bedroom for Ava. Bella's bedroom was fitted with a wall of wardrobes and storage and Ollie's spacious attic bedroom kitted out with fresh fittings in its en suite.
The upstairs flat's entrance, living and dining rooms were repurposed as a spacious master bedroom. French doors open on to a veranda for a breathtaking view of the harbour bridge and marina, across to the North Shore.
"This room is a bit of a blank canvas," says Becs. "You could easily add an en suite and walk-in wardrobe here."
On the ground floor, there's a children's TV and playroom which could also become a bedroom again.
"This room is great when we're entertaining," Becs says. "We can pop the kids in here and put a movie on and we're just across the hall."
The Bradleys always saw the restoration of their home as a two-stage project.
"It would make sense to extend the house into the garden with a new kitchen and living area," Becs says.
But with the family having a home on Waiheke, there's no need to keep this slice of history. And as liveable as the house is, there's still plenty of scope for new owners to put their stamp on it.
