Lucky charm on top in Grey Lynn

635 & 635A Great North Road, Grey Lynn. Photo / NZ Herald

635 & 635A Great North Rd Grey Lynn

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SIZE: Land 632sq m, main house 140sq m, minor dwelling 60sq m.

PRICE INDICATION: CV (2008) $932,000. Set date of sale November 3 (unless sold prior).

INSPECT: Sat/Sun 12pm-12.30pm or by appointment.

ON THE WEB: www.customresidential.co.nz/CR1863

SCHOOL ZONES: Grey Lynn School, Pasadena Intermediate, Auckland Girls' Grammar, Western Springs College.

CONTACT: Sandy or Keith Dowdle, Custom Residential, ph 360 4860, Sandy 021 877 804, Keith 021 877 905.

FEATURES: Renovated Art Deco three-bedroom home plus separate one-bedroom dwelling on one title. Main home has two living areas flowing to north-facing deck/garden, modern kitchen, dining room and Deco features. Second dwelling has open-plan kitchen/living/dining opening to its own deck and garden.

The curvaceous allure of an Art Deco home being sold for the first time since its 1949 creation swept Helen Huitema off her feet.

"I'd always noticed it and liked it because of its 'wedding-cake' look. I was driving along Great North Rd in 1998 and noticed it had a For Sale sign up. Once I got inside, I totally fell in love with it and bought it the day after."

She appreciated the proportions and Deco features including a curved bedroom, etched-glass entry doors, internal recessed bamboo-glass sliding doors and period architraves. She also liked the separate 60sq m "games room" the original owners added in the rear grounds as it offered income-earning potential.

Helen knew she'd be renovating, buying the property from an elderly lady with charmingly flamboyant taste, who had owned it with her late husband. An elderly neighbour later told her that the lady-of-the-house had admired the Deco design of nearby Surrey Crescent's Irene Pre-school (since-modified), so the home mimicked that. Helen excitedly broadcast her purchase, only mystified to be asked: "Do you mean that house with the gnome on the roof?" She'd bought oblivious to the quirky roof-top resident but the owner described it as the home's good-luck talisman so there it remains today, concreted to the front facade.

More recently, Helen has shared the home with husband-of-two-years Craig Harris, daughter Olivia and beagle Honey, but originally it was just the girls (and the gnome). Helen turned the separate 1960s weatherboard games room into an income-earning flat before overhauling the concrete-over-timber Deco home with an architect's help. This included re-wiring, re-plumbing and upping insulation, plus re-roofing in 2008.

She's a creative sort, selling her "Bringitback Design" homewares on www.toggle.co.nz, having sold the Texan Art Schools design stores she started.

The exterior colour scheme (Linen accented by Soya Bean and Karaka) won her a Resene prize. Entry is via the front porch (atop the basement single garage). Etched-glass doors bearing a typically Deco geometric motif open to a hallway, neutral decor and matai floors. The front lounge can be separated from the dining room by recessed bamboo-glass sliding doors. The rear living room's French doors open wide to the partially covered deck and its private north-facing back garden. The central modern kitchen includes a DishDrawer plus stainless and Corian benches incorporating stool seating.

The front bedroom has a curved wall of windows, his and hers wardrobes and a gloriously retro window featuring sandblasted ducks and bulrushes. Another bedroom has French doors opening to the outdoors while the third overlooks the rear grounds. There's a renovated family bathroom plus a separate WC and an in-cupboard laundry.

The rear second dwelling on the same title is accessed up a side path. (The Deco's main rear outdoor living is fenced off, so everyone retains their privacy). Rental of the 60sq m 1960s building has been $325 a week. It has one big bedroom, a bathroom/laundry and open-plan kitchen/living/dining with French doors to its own deck and garden. It could alternately accommodate mature children, older parents or an office.

A move to Tauranga for lifestyle and work reasons sees Helen and Craig selling the Deco delight, its 1960s companion and the "good-luck gnome" for only the second time in its history.