Haven of light and colour

30 Duke Street, Three Kings. Photo / Ted Baghurst

30 DUKE ST, THREE KINGS

4

2

1*

SIZE: Land 696sq m, house 154sq m.

PRICE INDICATION: Interest expected above $1 million. Auction August 14.

INSPECT: Sat/Sun 2-2.30pm; Weds 6-6.30pm.

ON THE WEB: barfoot.co.nz/501497

SCHOOL ZONES: Dominion Primary, Mt Roskill Intermediate, Mt Roskill Grammar.

CONTACT: Karen Captain and Ketiesha Elliott, Barfoot & Thompson, ph Karen 021 996 884 or Ketiesha 021 739 686.

FEATURES: 1920s transitional villa with renovated living areas, master bedroom and large deck with speakers, outdoor heater, cedar shutters and cafe-style drop sides. Tropical gardens with colonial hot tub and brazier pit.

Fifty houses after Jane Foreman started house-hunting, she pulled up outside here with an inkling that she was just about to find what she'd been looking for.

"It was my father who told me to look at 50 houses and sure enough, I'd seen 50," she says of the day she arrived here, took in the similarly styled neighbourhood and walked on in.

Now, more than 16 years later, Jane has made this place her own, from the orange letterbox to the punch of orange in the kitchen splashback and everything in between.

"I really went for quality," she explains of her three-stage renovation. "I wanted to live with something that had a really good finish and that was also visually attractive.

"I'm fussy, even in terms of my visual interpretation of the world, and I think that's a throwback from my grandmother, who taught us about beauty and how to see beautiful things around us. My mother Mary, who has painted a lot of the art on these walls, has that eye, too."

Jane, a former mental health nurse, brought her discerning eye and her two young children Gabriella and Declan into this home as a single mother and it has returned them countless memories of important family milestones.

Gabriella, who lives in Melbourne, says, "This is the place I've always looked forward to coming home to, sitting out on the deck and having a nightcap with Mum. We all grew up here. All my early memories are from this home."

Jane remembers this home in its early form, including the 70s brick garden planters and the brick barbecue.

"I remember walking inside and being sold on it straight away. The house had a 'wow' factor even before I started renovations."

Jane engaged architect Adam Mercer to rework the north face of the house, raising the roof height in the living area to take in the 4m-deep deck that virtually doubles her living area.

"We shifted the whole focus towards the garden," she explains of the outlook, which also takes in a standalone studio down the path behind the timber hot tub.

The deck is an all-seasons focal point and the perfect party venue, with its cedar end shutters and clear cafe-style blinds across the front for wet weather protection. Within, there are audio ceiling speakers and an outdoor heater. Beyond, the view is an unimpeded vista that takes in the tropical garden, lawn and stone brazier pit, and the quaint studio.

Inside, the kitchen, with its orange splashback and brown marble bench, was designed and built by Vogue Kitchens, who also designed the wall of white built-in furniture in Jane's bedroom.

In her en suite, a vertical band of turquoise and grey glass mosaic tiles adds a luxurious touch. In her resort-style bedroom she opted for full-height adjustable shutters instead of curtains. "I didn't want clutter so I kept it simple. It's amazing to be lying in bed with the sun streaming through the shutters, even in winter."

Jane describes her home as having "wonderful spaces that work with its heritage feel".

The original rooms include the front guest bedroom with its charming double-hung corner window, the formal lounge with its white painted wallpaper and fireplace, the main bathroom and the study.

"I deliberately kept the integrity of the house intact, particularly the ceilings," she explains. With splashes of her favourite shade of orange throughout, she has completed her line-up of "shape, colour, texture and light" - all the elements that she says have made this home so special.