Memories are made of this in Stanley Pt

14 Waterview Rd, Stanley Point. Photo / Ted Baghurst

14 WATERVIEW RD STANLEY PT

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SIZE: Land 1973sq m, house 240sq m (approx).

PRICE INDICATION: CV $2.5 million. Set date of sale February 17 at 1.30pm.

INSPECT: Sunday 10.45am-11.30am.

ON THE WEB: www.galbraithrealestate .co.nz/property/104

SCHOOL ZONES: Stanley Bay School, Belmont Intermediate, Takapuna Grammar.

CONTACT: Ron Ramdin, Galbraith Real Estate, ph 021 505 650.

FEATURES: Lovingly renovated and extended villa on a huge parcel of land in one of Stanley Pt's best streets. Naturally styled in-ground swimming pool, huge landscaped grounds full of mature trees and plans available for garage and master bedroom suite.

Villas don't come much more classic than Stephen and Susannah Luscombe's family home of the past eight years.

Set on the heritage side of a pretty street in the leafiest of Devonport's enclaves, the graceful proportions and decorative detailing were why Susannah fell in love with it at first sight, but it was the half-acre section falling away down to the street below that set Stephen's imagination on fire. "I've always loved to garden but I could see that this was boy heaven. We already had one with another on the way so it was a clincher."

Moving in a few months later brought son No2 into the world early. Susannah remembers the challenges of those early years.

"We lived through 18 months of building mess with two toddlers, but the builders were fantastic and the end result was everything we had imagined."

Perhaps the biggest alteration was the excavation under the house to create two bedrooms, a bathroom and a playroom, eventually providing the perfect area for the boys to let off steam and contain the mess two vigorous children can create.

"We were determined to make the sort of home that worked well for a family," Susannah explains. "Digging down meant that the boys have a space that is pretty much theirs to do what they want with.

"It's alongside the pool so even then they don't drip through the house on the way to the bathroom, and if they've been playing rugby or whatever they can just go straight to the laundry with the dirty clothes. It means that upstairs stays civilised for the grown-ups all the time."

These grown-up areas - on what was the ground floor of the original house - were the second biggest alteration. A series of poky little rooms to the rear of the house were also opened out to become a light-filled kitchen, dining and living area. Large decks out to the sides and rear overlook mature trees, providing peaceful places to relax and creating the perfect living space for a busy family.

Susannah and Stephen work from home, and their two offices are also found on this level, along with a bathroom and spare bedroom. French windows lead from this sunny room to the side veranda and large bay windows balance the front.

The high, wide hall with original kauri floors is large enough to allow for easy access downstairs to the boys' space, as well as upstairs to what could become a master bedroom suite above a potential garage.

Once the house was complete, Stephen and Susannah concentrated on getting some order into the almost 2000sq m of grounds.

These now fall away to link up with the nearby Navy playing fields, but were at one stage seriously overgrown. Now an extra-large retaining wall allows a level lawn to surround the house while wide steps lead down into the greenery where the boys spend much of the time making forts and generally doing the sorts of things children love to do.

Despite the hard work, Susannah and Stephen are on the move, back to Central Otago where Susannah grew up.

"We've decided we want the boys to spend time with their last remaining grandparent. They're not too keen to leave the home they love, and in many ways we don't want to either but now's the right time to go for family reasons. And we know the new owners will love it like we do," says Susannah.

"There are not many places left with the land around them like this."