KEY POINTS:
A couple switched from a modern home to a character villa to raise their young family.
26 Sentinel Road, Herne Bay.
Alex and Ange Swney were living in a thoroughly modern house when they had their first baby.
``I remember the Plunket nurse looking around and saying we'd be out of there in six weeks, and she was pretty much right,'' grins Alex, whose name readers may recognise through his job as chief executive of the Heart of the City organisation which promotes Auckland.
They loved the house, but it was impractical for a young family so they went looking for something they'd feel comfortable in.
What they found was this 1890s two-storey villa on a sunny site just down from the Jervois Road shops. With a bay window and a wide verandah top and bottom, it hints at the houses of New Orleans as much as Victorian England.
``We bought it in about 10 minutes,'' recalls Ange. ``It looked so beautiful from the street, and when we walked in it had a wonderful family feel to it.''
They knew the layout would work well, with four bedrooms upstairs and the living areas and office downstairs. ``We've enjoyed the space - there's lots of big, separate rooms so if you want to get away from noise you can.''
The villa's generous 3.2m stud, plus a long, wide hallway, has given the couple plenty of room to display their collection of New Zealand art.
Their choice of light fittings are works of art in themselves - contemporary, semi-transparent takes on chandeliers in two rooms, gilded chandeliers dripping with coloured glass fruit in the dining room, hallway and stairwell. An elegant cast iron and clear glass model sets off the master bedroom.
``We had owned villas before this one,'' adds Alex. ``And one of the reasons we came back to the style was that it's such a rock in the middle of all the changes in fashion. They have a history.''
Part of the history of this villa includes time as a somewhat notorious student flat, known as the Elephant House after a sign, lifted from the bar of the same name at Mansion House on Kawau Island, was placed in a front window.
There's no trace of a student flat here now. The owners before Alex and Ange began the renovation, including the installation of a striking kitchen that combines modern elements with a character aesthetic. A 5m long charcoal-coloured bench and breakfast bar is surrounded by wooden cupboards, white tiles and multi-panelled windows that look northwest to the Birkenhead hills.
Alex and Ange have worked steadily to further improve the house in the five years they've lived here with daughters Stella, 6, and India, 4. They knocked out walls to create an open plan kitchen, dining and family room at the rear, which opens onto another verandah and on down to the new pool. They installed a multi-room sound-system, and radiator heating that keeps the house toasty in winter.
Each of the bedrooms upstairs opens onto a verandah at either the front or rear of the house, and some of the doorways have been fitted with shutters so the breeze can blow through on warm summer nights, but privacy is retained. Stained glass windows, kauri fireplace surrounds and kauri floorboards have been preserved. A large storage room was built under the house so one of the front rooms could be returned to use as an office and playspace.
And the sloping back yard has finally been levelled so a pool could be installed next to the new, flat lawn. Alex and Ange feel a bit sad to be leaving before they get a summer's use out of this new feature, but they've decided it's time for a change.
``We're going back to modern again,'' smiles Ange. ``It's just our way to keep moving, but I could imagine a family settling in here forever.''
VITAL STATISTICS
BEDROOMS: 5
BATHROOMS: 2
GARAGES: *
SIZE: Land 604sq m, house 304sq m.
PRICE INDICATION: $2.4 million-plus. Sale by negotiation.
INSPECT: Sat/Sun 1-2pm.
ON THE WEB: www.bayleys.co.nz # 43749
SCHOOL ZONES: Ponsonby Primary, Auckland Girls Grammar, Western Springs College.
CONTACT: Patrick McCarthy and Karen Spires, Bayleys, ph Patrick 027 233 3988 or 375 6848, Karen 027 273 8220, 375 8488.
FEATURES: Renovated two-storey 1890s villa with many character features, and verandahs on both levels, front and rear. Large office/playroom could be fifth bedroom. Underfloor heating in family room, radiator heating through rest of house. Pool.
* No garage but off-street parking for 4 cars and large basement storage area.
