Recipe for success in Ponsonby

House for sale at 2 Provost Street, Ponsonby. Photo / Ted Baghurst

2 PROVOST ST PONSONBY

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SIZE: Land 349sq m, house 158sq m (including decks).

PRICE INDICATION: CV $860,000. Auction March 23 at 11am on-site.

INSPECT: Sunday 12-12.45pm.

ON THE WEB: www.kellands.co.nz/95756

SCHOOL ZONES: Ponsonby Primary, Ponsonby Intermediate, Western Springs College, Auckland Girls' Grammar.

CONTACT: Fiona Mackenzie, Kellands, ph 021 968 880.

FEATURES: Tucked in a one-way cul-de-sac between Ponsonby and Jervois Rds is this beautiful, sensitively restored Arts and Crafts bungalow. Features original oak panelling, fireplaces and joinery, cosy snug and open-plan living-dining-kitchen area opening to landscaped garden and decks.

There is something terrifying and exciting about setting up a new business. When you are a couple who've headed some of Ponsonby's best-loved and most successful establishments (Prego for her, Ponsonby Social Club for him) and created a new vibe in a previously abandoned precinct, the expectations and pressure are on.

So when Krishna Botica and Tony McGeorge spent 18 months developing their new venture, Cafe Hanoi, which opened in the Britomart precinct last August, they were lucky to be able to use their home as a base.

"This is where we did all the trials for the food," says Krishna, pointing out that the kitchen comfortably fits three work stations for chefs and assistants. "We developed recipes, we were chopping herbs, measuring and weighing for costings. It was a pretty exciting time." Even the deck and lawn, only recently levelled, terraced and planted in natives by Krishna's mum, didn't escape: large barrels grew the lemongrass, mint and Vietnamese herbs to initially supply chef Jason van Dorsten.

Tony experimented with numerous shades of red paint until the couple settled on the perfect ox-blood colour for the restaurant's vintage chairs. The living room and guest room were packed to the gunnels with furniture, paint, crockery and equipment sourced from Vietnam.

"This is a perfect party house," says Krishna, although for the past couple of years the parties have been more seriously focused on hosting suppliers and wine merchants as the team tested food and wine combinations. But the open-plan kitchen and dining space, which opens to the garden via french doors, has a welcoming atmosphere, due in part to the sympathetic renovation by previous owners.

"People have wondered why we didn't paint out the oak panels and make it 'modern', but Tony has a high regard for design and we figure that somebody planned it this way, we fell in love with it as it is," Krishna explains.

Unlike the long-considered build-up to the business, the move into this house was swift - after a mere two weekends of open homes and viewing a handful of houses, Krishna instantly knew she'd found the right place. Five days later, it was bought.

Despite anticipating a do-up project, the couple quickly realised the renovations by the previous owners meant there was little to do except move in their furniture, sort out the garden (which included adding a servery bar outside the kitchen window ) and, of course, cook and eat.

The accommodating house has kept its charm. A former porch was cleverly converted to the master en suite and closets added in the two largest double bedrooms without disturbing the beautifully maintained oak panels, picture rails and doors. The small living room, with its original fireplace - Krishna and Tony think it may have been the original dining room, as it backed on to the kitchen - is now a cosy winter snug, perfect for the TV, while the generous open-plan living room has a modern fireplace in the original brick chimney and is open and welcoming for dinner, handy to the cooks.

But with three businesses and 100 staff to manage, Krishna and Tony have decided to simplify their lives and focus on the business rather than home-ownership. The house, with its stories, including the start-up of one of Auckland's favourite new restaurants, is available for the next set of Ponsonby-ites to give it their heart.