CONTACT:
Paul Grace and Hugh Seabrook, Ray White, ph 022 404 1472 (Paul) or 021 909 012 (Hugh).
The green corridor laid out in front of Nicola Smith's sunlit back veranda has given her a soothing outlook for 27 years, even as strange Moroccan affairs unfolded in her basement.
She says of the snaking tributary of green formed by her backyard and those of her neighbours, "I callthis my urban ocean because there's always some green movement in this gully. It's so tranquil and full of birdlife. It's hard to believe we're 450 metres from Ponsonby Rd."
She bought here in 1987 upon returning from Hokianga, recognising Grey Lynn's handiness for her two stepdaughters' education. Then, the square-front villa of predominantly unrenovated scrim had one front room renovated.
"It just looked charming and you could see what the rest of the house could be like."
These days it's very liveable as is but ready for renovation if you want the glossy-magazine-standard living permeating local picture-book villas. Native timber floors (some under carpet), a high stud, some sash windows and a smattering of leadlights await.
"My House, My Castle put in a downstairs room when my son was 18. You ought to see what they put in for an 18-year-old boy's bedroom" she grins.
More than a decade ago the TV show offered to make over her son's basement bedroom after he'd stretched permission to repaint it by graffiti-ing its walls.
"He'd started off on one wall artfully enough but had descended into the awful."
Nicola was delighted the show installed a well-built internal staircase linking the lower level. She was bemused when the unveiling revealed her son's bedroom as a "sort of Moroccan boudoir".
"As with these programmes everyone is expected to look thrilled and surprised -- and then we promptly got the paint tins out," she says jovially.
Her veranda is adorned with timber lacework. This porch would have originally spanned the width of the home but she's grateful her front bedroom grew when previous owners closed in part of the veranda.
Of the two other bedrooms on this level, accompanied by a bathroom, the smaller has been a nursery and an office.
Sun streams in the home's rear, devoted to a kitchen-dining-living room opening to the balmy rear veranda with side leadlight.
Nicola renovated the kitchen most recently, describing its layout as "great for people who love cooking". Internal french doors can close off the separate merlot-coloured living room with side bay window.
Image 1 of 5: There's a rose in the street name and rosy warmth inside this Ponsonby looker
"I went to the Home Show one year, bought a nice outdoor table and chairs then realised the veranda wasn't big enough and had to extend it," she laughs.
"This veranda really is another living area. In winter the sun comes right into the living areas but in summer as the sun goes higher the internal covered part of this deck is absolutely shaded."
Down the internal stairs the fourth bedroom has heated tile flooring and opens outdoors. You can make out the emblematic outline of a Moroccon arch formed by its shaped overhead cabinetry. There's a laundry room off the back of the villa.
Tall hedges mean the rear lawn-garden is a totally private spot from which you struggle to spot another dwelling.
A late Samoan neighbour repeatedly tried to set fire to a huge scraggly pine where it grew, which wasn't on his land but shaded it. The fire service stopped him but a storm eventually toppled the damaged Goliath, barely missing the fire-starter's house while opening up Nicola's view.
"I was quietly thankful."
She realises this asset will allow her to enjoy more "me" time, which will include exploring New Zealand in an RV between sojourns overseas as a housesitter and pet minder.
