Mt Albert - Art of persuasion

A fine example of arts and crafts architecture also has all the attributes of a great family home.

5 Summit Drive, Mt Albert.

Graeme and Penny Small say they have their architect partly to thank for talking them into buying this house nearly 11 years ago.

``We had never heard of arts and crafts design, or Basil Hooper who created these houses back in the 1920s, but our architect Lindley Naismith was so enamoured with his work she encouraged us to grab this place,'' recalls Penny.

They didn't take much persuasion - Graeme and Penny loved the finely crafted detail throughout the two-storey house, its stately proportions and generous section. They could see that their sons Matthew, then 2, and Richard, 5, would have plenty of room to grow up.

And that has proved true, although the enthusiasm with which they took to playing with balls around the tall kauri in the back yard saw the demise of a glasshouse that used to reside against the fence.

Lindley Naismith helped Graeme and Penny design a new kitchen and create some outdoor flow from the dining room to a new terrace, but it is all in such perfect keeping with the original house that you cannot tell which parts are old and which are new.

Basil Hooper designed every door and window in his houses so that intricate leadlight patterns were continued throughout.

This house, which was completed for the Takle family in 1929, is no exception. As you enter the front door you are greeted by an archway that now leads to the kitchen, above which is an arched window with leadlighting in the shape of a rising sun.

French doors with frosted, bevelled glass panels give entry to the formal lounge to your right. To your left is a wide stairway leading to the second level, past two feature leadlight windows.

The lounge still has its open fire with the original tiled surround, and a leadlight bay window looking out to the Phoenix palm that dominates the front lawn.

Penny says kingfishers nest in its fronds. Sliding doors made of many bevelled panels separate this room from the dining room, off which is a sunroom/study lined with bifold windows.

The Smalls removed the rear wall of the dining room and had bifold doors made to open it to a northwest-facing terrace. They also removed some double-sided cupboards between the dining room and kitchen and installed a breakfast bar and a large hatch, which can be closed to reinstate the intimacy of the original room.

The long kitchen bench looks out to the back yard through bifold windows. Its dark-stained oak cabinetry matches the wood used throughout the house in doors, skirting boards, architraves and ceiling beams.

Upstairs are four bedrooms and a bathroom. Those on one side have a view to One Tree Hill, those on the other look across rooftops to the western reaches of the Waitemata Harbour. Sloping ceilings and dormer windows give the boys' rooms a cosy feel.

There is another useful room above the double garage - it has a built-in desk and small bathroom off the main room, so could be a teenager's space or an office.

The house is built of double-brick, which Penny says is warm in winter and cool in summer.

Matthew and Richard are now 13 and 16, and, being heavily involved in schoolwork and water polo, Penny says they need more house and less land.

``I'll miss all the character features in this house - they're pretty amazing and houses like this are quite rare. It's a lovely community around here, too. We've had wonderful neighbours.''

She would like to see the house go to either another family, or to people who are grandparents.
``It's a home that needs children.''

VITAL STATISTICS

BEDROOMS: 4

BATHROOMS: 2

GARAGES: 2+

SIZE: Land 1239sq m, house 200sq m (approx).

PRICE INDICATION: Interest expected above the 2005 CV of $1.13 million. Auction September 20.

INSPECT: Sat/Sun 2-2.45pm.

ON THE WEB: www.open2view.co.nz #135301

CONTACT: Paula Stringfield or Julia Stewart, Unlimited Potential, ph 021 764 441 (Paula), 021 955 450 (Julia).

FEATURES: 1929 arts and crafts home designed by Basil Hooper. Original character features have been preserved, and new work done in keeping. Open fire in lounge. Sunroom/study. Extra bedroom/office above garage. Views from upstairs bedrooms.