SCHOOL ZONES:
Northcote Primary, Northcote Intermediate, Northcote College.
CONTACT:
Michele Baker, Harcourts, 021 553 275 or 481 0907.
AUCTION:
March 13, 1pm on site
It's all very well having a house that looks stunning. But as far as Helen Walsh is concerned, it's more important to have a home that is healthy and makes life easy.
"Function was the thing we focused on, rather than form," she says, recalling the inspiration behind the renovation of the house she and husband Craig Panther own.
"We wanted it to feel good to live in."
Having a practical and comfortable house may have been their priority, but they have also ended up with an extremely stylish home that feels contemporary while retaining heritage features such as the 3m high stud.
Helen says input from interior designer friends was helpful.
Their home today is vastly different to the 1930s kauri cottage they bought 16 years ago. Previous owners had extended the house, but left plenty of room for improvements.
"The walls were just gib, and we had no curtains for five years," says Helen.
"We knew we were taking on a big job when we bought it, but we didn't have the money to do it. I didn't care, I just wanted to be in Northcote Point -- I'd lived here before and loved it."
It provided a good family home for the couple and Helen's teenage daughters Hannah and Sarah, and although a few jobs were tackled, they didn't attempt a major makeover.
In 2008 they went overseas, living in London, then Melbourne, and their home was rented out. When they returned in 2011, it was with a new family member, son Theo, who was three. Unfortunately, in their first year back in Auckland, Theo suffered 11 upper respiratory tract infections, due to the fact that the house was so cold and damp.
"We had lived in warm, dry houses overseas, and I thought, 'Why can't we have that here?' We started out by putting in double glazing, and then new joinery, and everything snowballed from there."
Helen and Craig ended up pretty much rebuilding the house.
They stuck to the existing footprint but altered the layout slightly, in particular opening up the rooms at the rear of the house to create an open plan living/dining/kitchen area.
Image 1 of 9: While this house looks stunning, the owners have put function ahead of form. Photos / Fiona Goodall, Getty Images
Today the house has been fully insulated and they took out the gas heating -- which can cause condensation -- and replaced it with ducted central heating and cooling.
Solid doors, including a cavity slider between the living areas and the hall, keep the warmth in and are also great for soundproofing.
The kitchen is Craig's domain, given he's the cook in the family. He thought carefully about what he wanted and the result is a state-of-the art room with sleek cabinetry, automatic opening drawers, a steam oven, stainless steel shelf with down lighting and a central island with a Corian work surface that is ideal for rolling out dough for the bread and pizza bases he makes.
There is also a spacious butler's pantry that houses a wine fridge as well as a food one, and has plenty of storage and bench space.
A barn door from the pantry leads out to a potager garden, and there are also lots of fruit trees on the property.
Meanwhile the kitchen and lounge open up to the deck, on which sits a pizza oven Craig painstakingly made himself.
"The deck is like another room, we use it so much," says Helen.
The garden includes a stately magnolia tree and easy-care low-maintenance planting.
Back inside, the family bathroom has luxuries like underfloor heating, a heated mirror that doesn't steam up, a rain showerhead and a self-filling bath.
The en suite off the master bedroom also has similar features, along with textured black tiles that catch the light, earning it the nickname, 'the disco bathroom'.
There are four generous bedrooms, with wardrobes with shelving systems, and an office with two work stations. Storage is plentiful, including attic space with a pull-down staircase.
