Walking into the open home for this bungalow in a quiet Westmere street, Erin and Scott Coldham quickly assessed its potential.
"We were aware the house wasn't this year's fashion when we bought it but we liked it because it had good bones," says Erin. "It was an easy sell for us, being at this end of Cumberland Ave, and with a baby."
They were already sold on the area; Scott works in advertising in Ponsonby and they had narrowed their suburb choice to Ponsonby, Grey Lynn or Westmere so Scott could be just minutes from his workplace. Westmere scored brownie points for its larger section sizes.
That was March last year and baby Jude (now 10 months) would have a warm, sunny room at the front of the bungalow, just across the wide hallway from Mum and Dad.
The separate studio has proved a multi-tasker; as wedding planner Erin's office, as a guest room and as a man cave.
Erin's parents are veterans of a few home renovations and the couple bounced improvement ideas off them before deciding to remove a wall and glass door between the kitchen and living/dining room to make one open-plan living space.
They liked the kitchen's modern bench but have added more storage, a skylight, redid the flooring and painted internal walls Resene Alabaster.
The ColorSteel roof was new and the hard-wearing weatherboards are in good nick.
They redid the separate laundry, kept the bathroom as is except for a new vanity.
In the bedrooms, window shutters mean fresh air can come in opened windows while the shutters keep the house secure. HRV has been installed and the house is plumbed for gas heating.
Outside, the shortened driveway allows room for a fence.
A deck now connects the studio and home, adding space for entertaining or just a place to chill on sunny days. Just off to the side of the deck is lawn plus the new petanque area.
The layout of the Coldhams' home now has the two bedrooms at the front off the wide hallway, including the master with its distinctive bay windows. The hallway leads into the open-plan living space of the kitchen, dining and lounge. Feeding off here are the bathroom, toilet and laundry, while the lounge opens to the deck.
"The living room is a big space and you don't feel on top of each other and you also can open the doors and go outside."
Plenty of wall space, too, for a striking Bob Dylan print that Erin's and Scott's visitors always comment on.
"We have had so many dining parties here, opening up the extended tables."
Summer living has been enjoyable, opening the doors and making the most of the deck but Erin says it is also a lovely home to hunker down in in winter with a new baby because it's warm and comfortable. "The bedrooms get light all day and the way the section is set up we get lots of sunlight from the deck area. It's an absolute suntrap.
"It's nice with the afternoon sun to read a book on your bed."
Erin can walk to nearby parks and shops in 10 minutes with the pushchair: the butcher, doctor, Farro, Countdown, the parks at Francis St Reserve, Grey Lynn and Coxs Bay Park.
"There are a lot of young families here; it's that neighbourhood that's right for us."
The couple are selling because they want a bigger house but don't want to take on a big renovation "with a little guy".
Erin imagines the next owners could be someone already living in the area, perhaps a professional couple or someone downsizing from a larger family home or wanting to extend the home to have more bedrooms.
"It's been a really good home for having a young baby, particularly having the separate laundry.
