SCHOOL ZONES:
Ponsonby Primary, Intermediate, Auckland Girls’ Grammar, Western Springs College.
CONTACT:
Ricky Cave, 027 222 5419, Ray White.
EXPRESSION OF INTEREST:
Close Tuesday, June 6, 4pm (unless sold prior).
Angela Bruce laughs and says she and husband Craig only made one mistake when they bought their spreading villa on the slopes of St Marys Bay.
"We had two teenage boys and we could just see them and their friends spreading out in the house, spending hours by thepool," she said.
"That happened, but with one moved to Dunedin and the other studying and travelling, it's just the two of us and the house does become too big. So soon."
They are reluctant to part with the stunning sunsets they watch from the enclosed balcony overlooking the close views of the super-yacht harbour, Westhaven and the harbour bridge, but without kids at home, plan to spend more time at their beach house and just keep a smaller city pad for working days.
The couple had been house-hunting for some time around the inner-city suburb, wanting to reduce their long commute from Howick to their north shore business.
When they saw the renovated Edwardian villa on the quiet Harbour St, they knew immediately it was the place for them.
They are not sure who did the architecture and engineering when the crumbling old rooming house was completely refurbished about 10 years ago, but they were reassured that some tons of concrete and steel underpinned the whole house, its cliff-top pool and the two underground garages (one has a cunning turntable that allows two large cars to slip in, side by side).
8 Harbour St, St Marys Bay, Auckland. Photo / Ted Baghurst
The grand house was designed for versatility. At street level the gracious front porch opens to a wide hallway with two bedrooms, formal and informal living and dining and, out the back, over that view is the deep, covered porch that captured them on the first viewing.
Although much of the house had been mucked around with during its years as a hostel, there were enough remnants of its gracious past to rescue.
The wide, arched hallway, the huge master bedroom at the front of the house and a smaller office still have the charming Arts and Crafts-style leadlight windows above the working sashes.
Proportions are tall, there are still fireplaces in both the master and the bay-windowed family room at the back of the house, as well as a modern gas fireplace in the living room and a further original brick wood fire in the lower ground the family room.
Angela and Craig were impressed at how the previous owners re-worked the floor plan to create a huge walk-in wardrobe and master bathroom out of what would have been a minor bedroom.
They use a second bedroom on this floor as their office. What they think was an old utility or bathroom (it opens off the second, street-level garage) is now cunningly arranged into a guest loo, laundry and storage room with a small flight of steps leading up to a guest bedroom carved out of the attic.
That has one of the best views in the house, with its own balcony overlooking the harbour, as well as a generous private bathroom and, with its separate entry, would make it ideal for granny or nanny quarters.
But it is at the rear of the house where the transformation really made the most of the site. Original pressed tin ceilings mark what would have been two rooms, now joined as one generous open-plan kitchen and living room.
Angela has loved the L-shaped island-table in the centre of the space, great for guests to gather around, and relished the suite of Gaggenau cooktops that include a barbecue and steam oven, plus double ovens and walls of pantry storage.
A sliding window makes a servery to the barbecue on the covered porch, which is roomy enough for a huge dining table, while an appliance scullery hides plenty more storage. For more formal gatherings a separate dining room is tucked behind.
Downstairs became the boys' domain. Each of the double bedrooms has its own en suite and there's a guest loo.
With its own full-sized kitchen, wet bar area, fireplace and lounging area, as well as glass doors that slide away to open the room to the pool, it is not surprising this floor was the social centre.
The pool has heating (as does the rest of the house, via a full home automation system that Craig had updated when the family moved in).
However, the pool has been warm enough to use without heating for most of the year. The unexpected bonus is a temperature-controlled wine room
Craig and Angela have loved their easy walking access via the glass-enclosed walkway to the waterfront walks and cafes of Wynyard Quarter and Westhaven, as well as the ease of being close to Ponsonby and beyond.
