SCHOOL ZONES:
Maungawhau School, ANI, double grammar.
CONTACT:
Ketiesha Elliott & Frank Excell, Barfoot & Thompson, 021 739 686 (Ketiesha) or 021 392 355 (Frank).
Good impressions stick -- like one made years ago, when Penny Lewis noticed the quality renovation previous owners had done on this home, and made a point of complimenting them on it.
Her husband, engineer Phillip Meyer-Smith, thought similarly so, after planning to downsize from a larger property with a pool, they bought here a year ago.
"It's got great street appeal. And then it builds upon that with its views and its privacy and its character," says Phillip.
"People are often quite surprised when they get inside and realise it gets lovely views out to the northwest and to the southwest because it is quite elevated."
The couple has already made several improvements since moving here but then it became apparent their blended family, bolstered by vulnerable children they foster for Barnardos, wasn't shrinking.
So they've bitten the bullet and bought a renovated Mt Eden boarding house to accommodate them, four of their five children who are still at home, foster children, cat Flame and bouncy labradoodle Piper.
The gated weatherboard and shingle two-storey home stands proudly above layers of neatly clipped hedging stepping up the front of the grounds.
The street-level double garage out front was built to complement the double-grammar zoned home's era, understood to be 1920s.
If Penny's after some quiet time she'll grab a drink from the stone-benched kitchen and head to an additional westerly lounge to curl up in front of its wood-burning open fire.
Downstairs is rounded out by two bedrooms with ample wardrobes, a bathroom and under-stair storage.
With two living spaces downstairs, the couple chose to turn an open-plan upstairs space into a front bedroom, which can alternatively be a study.
Upstairs feature windows include a circular front window and heavily panelled heritage-style windows.
This front face looks out to the upper Landscape Road ridgeline and around the horizon to Big King.
Another bathroom accompanies two more bedrooms on this level, including the master bedroom with banks of windows, en suite and two double wardrobes.
Penny says: "We see beautiful sunsets and then a great view of the city lights at night."
They called on an interior design-savvy friend's advice for decor decisions. And there's a gate to a side driveway, the property half owns but no longer relies on.
However, Phillip says it will come in handy again soon for moving furniture.
