SCHOOL ZONES:
Richmond Rd School, Ponsonby Intermediate, AGGs, Western Springs College.
CONTACT:
Matt O'Rourke and Ryan Harding, Barfoot & Thompson, 021 375 909 (Matt) or 021 621 580 (Ryan).
*Two off-street parks
Four-bedroom Grey Lynn villas aren't typical first-home buyer material, but this one's two-flat configuration made the unusual possible.
Owners and partners Claudia Zinzan and Nick Hutchinson bought here pre-children in 2008 after flatting about 100m away.
Claudia says: "This has been our first home and we've put lots of energy into it.
"It was put into two legal flats around the 60s, which was great for us. It allowed us to buy in a desirable area and get an income to offset the mortgage.
"The flats are apartment-sized, but you get to have all the attributes of a villa plus the back garden."
The circa-1914 villa's two-flat layout may attract those wanting to re-establish it as one home, those emulating this couple by living in one half and renting out the other, or investors. The appraised combined weekly rent is $1050-plus.
Interior designer Claudia and film-industry focus puller Nick have lived in both flats over the period they've launched their homewares business, Father Rabbit, and had Tony (who turns 5 today) and 1-year-old Michaela.
"The thing that struck us most when we looked at this villa was that it hadn't been too butchered so we'd be able to put the character back into it."
That's included adding tongue-and-groove and match lining and re-instating beamed ceilings.
Divvied-up character homes often include one "short straw" flat, characterised by dingily low-ceilinged basement dwellings. But this single-storey villa's roughly half-and-half division, partitioning its eastern and western sides, helps make both flats pleasant environments with good natural light from windows.
The eastern-side flat has French doors opening to the private backyard and is the natural claimant to tandem off-street parking in the driveway along its flank. A side entrance opens into its kitchen, also harbouring the cat-door for pretty family pet "Pat-the-Cat".
A crisp neutral colour palette used throughout unifies the flat.
"It's got a really relaxing and nostalgic old-school vibe. We always want things to look like your grandfather's house, without too much fussiness to them."
Claudia chose the soft blue of Aalto Colour's Umpire for the kitchen, which has thick shelves against tongue-and-groove lining above the sink, an original timber floor and stainless-topped island with dishwasher.
Lining an existing rear extension with match lining imbues this living-dining room with the sort of gently old-world ambience you'd find in a simple scullery.
Its French doors with low rear deck step out to the hedged backyard, which they've levelled.
"It's a big sunny backyard and we've had lots of kids' parties and barbecues and drinks here," says Claudia.
There's resource consent to replace the rustic corrugate garage they use as a storage shed with a multi-purpose free-standing studio offering a large room plus a bathroom, laundry, bar area and mezzanine.
Inside, a chalky pea-green hallway leads to the revamped bathroom, the front master with big bay and cupboards over wardrobing plus another bedroom.
Image 1 of 7: Character villa offers the chance to live in one side and rent out the other
They used white brick tiles in the bathroom, which includes a bath, in-cupboard laundry and a $10-dollar basin Nick converted into a vintage-style vanity.
The front steps access the western flat, which has timber floors painted white throughout as a legacy of having been their business' office.
Claudia loves the cute 60s era kitchen cupboards in the open-plan front kitchen-dining-living area. She and Nick added the kitchen island with bar seating, which doubles as a table while housing a dishwasher and fridge-freezer underneath.
A hallway culminating in a simple bathroom feeds two bedrooms with wardrobes.
The couple are selling as their family's outgrown the half of the home they've been living in.
