SCHOOL ZONES:
St Heliers School, St Ignatius Catholic School, Glendowie College.
CONTACT:
Silvia Poletti, Barfoot, 021 311 311.
When Keith Jackson drove past the signboard advertising this property five years ago he hit the brakes, reversed and said to wife Lyn, "What does that remind you of?"
He was recalling the impressive homes they'd admired during several very enjoyable holidays in Italy. They checked out this two-storey home and decided it would be a good next project following on from their redevelopment of a big Remuera home and garden. Lyn was excited by the location.
"It wouldn't take five minutes to get to the beach when walking briskly," says Lyn.
"When we first came here our grandchildren were quite little and they all loved walking down to the beach and the playground there.
"St Heliers can be very busy, especially at the weekends as it's a bit of a Mecca for cafes and the beach. However, Sylvia Rd is a quiet street with easy access to everything."
The couple, who own their own business doing metal fabrication and manufacturing for the building trade, enjoy adding value to properties.
They could see the opportunity to do that here because although the house, constructed by Cottle Design & Build in 1988, seemed well built they felt it could benefit from being updated and made more open plan.
While renovating throughout they united two smaller rooms into the sunny open-plan kitchen-informal dining-family room and installed more windows and glass bi-fold doors out to the courtyard.
Lyn says: "We extended the house all the way down the east-facing side by a metre and extended the back of the family room out a metre.
"Now the kitchen-family room is truly the heart of the home. It's a wonderful space to entertain either a crowd or just a couple of friends."
Probuilt Projects remodelled the home to Creative Arch's design and Executive Pools installed a heated courtyard pool. "The pool is just lovely," says Lyn. "It's so private, the grandkids love it and it's a joy to come home to after a long day at work. Keith likes sitting and reading in the sun in the courtyard."
The property is fully fenced with front gates, which is handy given Lyn cheerfully admits their beloved cocker spaniel, Molly, seems to have quite a small brain. Friends and family appreciate being able to park in off-street parking alongside the double-garage when they drop around.
Image 1 of 7: Children love the heated pool and pizza oven, and friends and family appreciate the entertainment-friendly flow to a warm courtyard
The home is constructed of plaster with a Mediterranean clay tile roof and copper spouting and downpipes. All the grandchildren took tumbles on slippery entrance and hallway tiles so the Jacksons replaced them with warm-looking French oak flooring, which continues in the kitchen-dining-family room.
Contemporary Kitchen Design installed a sophisticated yet practical new kitchen with marble benches, abundant storage and a walk-in pantry. Keen cook Lyn says their grandkids adore the steaming pizzas she prepares in the second oven, which converts to a pizza oven when an earthenware stone is added.
Near the kitchen-dining-family room is a formal dining room followed by a living room warmed by a gas fireplace and opening to the pool courtyard.
Downstairs is rounded out by a bedroom Lyn uses as her office, a bathroom and separate laundry.
The master suite upstairs is particularly restful. The couple increased the size of their walk-in wardrobe and installed a new en suite featuring black-and-white granite and a luxurious shower with an Italian rain shower head.
There are two other good-sized bedrooms up here, one of which has a pull-down ladder to attic storage, plus a third bathroom and separate toilet.
