SCHOOL ZONES:
Halsey Drive School, Waikowhai Intermediate, Lynfield College.
CONTACT:
Jared Cooksley, Ray White, 021 913 518.
AUCTION:
Noon, on site, August 27.
Friends who pop around to Craig and Tania Drought's renovated 1960s Lynfield home have commented it now looks so good it could be new.
That's understandable, given the amount of renovation that has gone into producing this stylish home, tucked away behind fencing.
Pilot Craig and Tania live here with their baby boy Jamie and their original fur baby bichon-westie cross Ellie. They love the environment they've created.
Craig nods towards doors opening their sunny living area to a sizeable deck and says: "In summer those doors stay open from dawn till dusk.
"The deck faces north, it's sunny and private and with the grounds having a bit of a tropical feeling it's like our own little resort.
"On days off we like to just hang around here, chilling out in the sun."
Craig bought here in 2007 after flatting in Hillsborough, mindful that Lynfield was only a 20-minute drive off-peak to town and also handy to the airport. The 1967 weatherboard home was sound but he was mainly attracted by its potential, envisaging how he could better maximise its sunny orientation, create indoor-outdoor flow and improve the layout.
Tania, who he met when she was a flight attendant, has a helpful talent for design having learnt about spatial and interior design when she did part of a Bachelor of Design.
They've pushed out the front of the home, re-roofed, re-plumbed, re-wired, installed double-glazed aluminium joinery throughout and thoroughly insulated before re-gibbing. The garage, deck, kitchen and bathroom were core improvements.
The front double garage flanked by fencing and gates has interior access to their living-dining-kitchen spread. They knocked walls down to bring a once poky kitchen into this open-plan area.
Image 1 of 6: This home is so well designed and finished it feels like living in a sunny resort. Photos / Ted Baghurst
They've entertained here a lot with Craig's specialty being herbed rack of lamb prepared in a polished kitchen featuring granite benches and French Scholtes appliances. The kitchen showcases the home's original rimu floors.
Big glass doors out to a deck sizeable enough to fit outdoor dining and outdoor lounging settings blur the indoor-outdoor boundaries.
As well as being a skilled DIY-er, Taranaki farmer's son Craig has an interest in gardening, sometimes ringing his 86-year-old grandfather Samuel for advice.
Planter boxes hold tropically-themed plants such as palms, cordyline and clivia with non-spreading bamboo continuing the vibe while giving the deck privacy.
Tania says the living area's enclosed wood-burning fireplace creates a warm, homely atmosphere and dog Ellie luxuriates in front of it in agreement.
Both the rear master bedroom with its wall of wardrobing and one of the two other rooms open to the deck.
Floor-plan re-jigging helped create a separate powder room and a roomy bathroom with tiled walls, a bath and a shower with an extra rain-head.
Craig says: "The old bathroom was so small you practically had to stand in the bath to close the door."
He's a bit of a gadget freak so installed Cat-5 cabling throughout the home, which also has ceiling speakers throughout the living area.
Out the back door you'll find entry to Craig's basement/workshop/man-cave, a vege garden, grapes he's pruned ready for the new owners and the path towards a front garden shed.
The couple can recommend living in this area which they've found to be quiet. They say it has a good local decile 9 primary school, nice parks and bush plus easy water access -- useful when Craig had a runabout.
They've enjoyed this project so are ready to take on another; having a colonial-style home built for them in Karaka.
