SCHOOL ZONES:
Remuera Primary, Remuera Intermediate, Auckland Grammar, EGGS.
CONTACT:
Lesley McLellan 027 453 5070.
AUCTION:
Nov 30 at 5pm, 369 Remuera Rd.
If it was located in the UK there would undoubtedly be a round blue plaque attached to this gracious Remuera transitional villa, bearing the words "Charles Frederick Goldie lived here".
Current owners Steve and Rachael were certainly intrigued by this when they first saw the house -- Rachael viewing it in person, and Steve by means of photographs, from Dubai, where they'd been living.
"It definitely does have a real sense of history," they say.
"We understand that it was built in the 1930s to a very high standard."
Goldie, (b. 1870) a shy man with a nervous disposition who was famous for his realistic portraits of Maori subjects with moko, lived in the house with wife Olive, a milliner, until his death in 1947.
The years in Upland Rd weren't his most productive in an artistic sense, but he still painted when his health allowed, in a studio that eventually became part of the separate double garage and is currently used as a billiard room by Steve and Rachael.
"It has rich, warm polished floorboards and you wouldn't really want to put a car in there," says Steve.
The Arts and Crafts-influenced weatherboard house with tile roof has been meticulously maintained throughout its history and exudes an air of olde-worlde English-style charm with neatly clipped hedges, lush green grass and lots of rose bushes, which are just about to burst into life. Fully fenced, the section is secluded and private.
Since buying it three years ago, Steve and Rachael have completed the renovation started by a former owner both inside and out and now the house is practically perfect with new carpet throughout and stylish, neutral decor.
Image 1 of 6: The former home of artist Charles Goldie still retains a sense of history. Photos / Ted Baghurst
Beyond the elegant front door is a formal lounge which segues into a sun room nook with French doors opening onto a charming paved patio outside. Towards the rear of the house is the open plan kitchen, dining and family room area.
"Whoever planned the layout here did a lovely job because it all flows really beautifully," says Rachael.
The kitchen has loads of bench space and lots of cupboards, too. A laundry is cleverly concealed behind folding doors.
Access to the elevated deck is from here and it is the most perfect place to sit and look out across the northern slopes towards the city, across a pleasing vista of rooftops and trees. The Sky Tower can be glimpsed in winter, once those trees lose their leaves.
Also on the ground floor is a spare bedroom, believed to have once been Goldie's library, but is now daughter Zara's sunny bedroom, plus a family bathroom, with bath, and separate powder room.
Upstairs, the couple has created an extensive master suite with their bedroom facing out to the lagoon, a walk-in wardrobe plus other storage cupboards in the attic, an office (potentially a fourth bedroom), and newly completed tiled en suite bathroom.
Steve and Rachael have enjoyed the first 18 months of Zara's life here, but are on the move to another property nearby.
"It's one that we looked at when we were house hunting three years ago and we really loved it but missed out on it at the time. When we saw that it was back on the market we just knew that it was meant to be," says Rachael.
"If we were staying here we'd develop the basement, which has lots of potential."
