SCHOOL ZONES:
Meadowbank Primary, Remuera Intermediate, Selwyn College.
CONTACT:
Lorraine Young, Harcourts, 021 764032 or 520 8119.
AUCTION:
March 19.
Ashared vision and a deft architectural touch have come together to add yet another layer of history to this 1968 Modernist-style home.
For Andy and Sally Holloway, who moved here in 2007, the clue to the best execution of their own ideas for this home lay among the pile of historic architectural drawings that they also acquired and which included the 2001 plans of architect Andre Hodgskin.
Andy says: "We looked at what he had done and thought, 'Why not get him back to finish it off?'." Such an opportunity is "quite rare", says Andre, a multi-award winning architect.
"I was flattered that they came back to us. These second owners recognised the sensitivities of the design of the original house and the way we had advanced that in the first instance. It was great to have that opportunity to work on it again. It was a good match."
Originally, this brick and cedar home took shape on its private, right-of-way site as a low-slung, single-storey, rectangular dwelling with a carport attached. From its asymmetrical roofline, pitched ceilings and high windows to its crazy-paving fireplace and slim-plank native tawa flooring, it epitomised the popular Modernist aesthetic that endures to this day.
Through a number of changes of ownership and various alterations, much has changed within its near-original footprint, although the north-facing living areas have remained the same.
In 1983, the kitchen was extended outwards, as was the bedroom/TV room near the stairs up to the two-bedroom flat that was built above the converted garage with separate external access.
In 1994, the in-ground curved pool was installed. Seven years later, Andre Hodgskin arrived with architectural plans that included an updated white kitchen with matching, scullery-style storage in what was the original adjacent laundry.
Between the TV room and the hallway he specified a floating wall that is open at the bottom and the top to create what he calls "a better connection of space and a sense of movement beyond the room". Built-in shelving on both sides is a further nod to the style of the era.
"The curved wall is a transition from one axis to another," says Andre.
Image 1 of 12: A realised vision of a space that is at once inviting and homely -- and elegantly open and simple
By 2007, it was the Holloways' turn to fine-tune this house to better suit life with their three young sons. And as they did so, they realised that this was the house they'd each seen for sale years back in 2000, but which they'd each overlooked as they prepared to shift from Okura to Campbells Bay.
As they reflected on all the features that had caught their respective eyes back then, they put their collective energy into alterations to enhance its functionality and comfort. They improved the bedrooms that are opposite the two full-sized bathrooms, one of which had been designated as a main bathroom for the flat.
In the kitchen, they replaced the east-facing sliding windows with clear glass louvres for better ventilation and they installed a new glass splashback.
Upstairs, they integrated the flat into the house by turning it into the master suite with dressing room and en suite.
"This was more in keeping with the scale of the house," says Andre.
Their adjacent upstairs lounge epitomises everything about the style, position, city views and privacy that has made this one of Andy and Sally's favourite rooms.
"I've always loved high ceilings and the rafters that overhang the house here, they are part of what makes this place so interesting," says Andy.
Certainly, the couple from San Francisco who stayed here during a house-swap thought so. For Andy and Sandy, their house swap to an American apartment prompted their forthcoming downsize to a townhouse in Parnell.
