Forever young in Northcote

48 Raleigh Rd, Northcote, Auckland. Photo / Ollie Dale

48 RALEIGH RD NORTHCOTE

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SIZE: Land 1214sq m, house 470sq m.

PRICE INDICATION: More than $1.1 million. Tender closes April 20.

INSPECT: Sat/Sun 1-1.40pm.

ON THE WEB: barfoot.co.nz/452388

SCHOOL ZONES: Northcote School, Northcote Intermediate, Northcote College

CONTACT: Fran Weinstein, Barfoot & Thompson Birkenhead, ph 021 432 432 or 480 9029.

FEATURES: Huge, partially modernised Ron Sang-designed 1970s home with six large bedrooms, open-plan living area, separate mezzanine dining area and large rumpus with its own kitchen that opens out to pool area.

There was one resolutely 70s feature of her Northcote home that Barbara Dyson was determined to get rid of - and another she was determined to keep.

When Barbara and her husband Paul bought their large Ron Sang-designed home 16 years ago, it was in original condition - down to great expanses of dark clinker brick and a carpeted conversation pit.

Barbara loved the cosiness of the conversation pit but the brickwork was dated and made the home feel gloomy. "It was a little bit over the top, which was of course a big 70s thing," says Barbara.

It had to go. And go it did, in a grand de-clinker party, where all the guests merrily chipped and bashed away at the interior brick walls, which the couple replaced with taupe panels. Externally, they covered the clinker with solid plaster, which modernised it and gave the already warm north-facing double-brick house an extra layer of insulation. "We don't have to use much heating in winter, and all the windows make it cool in summer," says Barbara.

Structurally, nothing needed to be done. "It was such an amazing design," she says. "Not something to be tampered with."

In fact, the biggest structural change Barbara and Paul made was to the house next door. When it came up for sale one year, they bought it, lowered its roof to improve their own view, and sold it again - all within a month. In the process, they also stipulated that the new neighbour's trees must not interfere with their view. The ambitious manoeuvre bought them a better city outlook from their main open-plan upstairs living area, which has decks on three sides - taking in the cityscape to the east and south and overlooking their pool area to the north.

The north-facing kitchen has been updated, opened up to the living area and cured of the classic 70s tiles that pimpled the benchtop.

The couple also installed a large skylight in a mezzanine space off the living area, which they use as a separate dining area. It overlooks an atrium with double-height north-facing windows, so the area is bathed in light.

They have been gradually updating the rest of the house, though the original olive carpet is still in such good condition that it's survived.

The couple also built a separate one-room studio off the pool for their once-teenage boys to use as a gym.

Barbara says that with the gym, the pool, the six large bedrooms, the three bathrooms and an enormous second living room downstairs with its own kitchen, it's been a great home for the family, and for guests.

"Last Christmas we had 10 people staying for three weeks. But you don't even actually notice it because they've all got their own space"

Barbara finds that evenings spent entertaining often begin and end in the conversation pit, especially in winter, when the fire provides a cosy focal point. Though it's much-derided thing in modern times, she's a big fan of the snug. Which is why it's still there, complete with original swirly carpet underfoot.

Now their three children have left home - the youngest only a month ago - Barbara and Paul figure it's a good opportunity to move on.