SCHOOL ZONES:
Newton Central, Kowhai Intermediate, AGGs, MAGs, Western Springs College.
CONTACT:
Tony Warren, Ray White, 021 845 252.
AUCTION:
August 3.
Looking for a home with secure double garaging and a large entertainment area, Marija Gecan arrived here expecting to tick off the basics and roll up her sleeves to add her own glamorous highlights.
She has done that sort of thing before, but this time there was virtually nothing left for her to do. From the chandeliers to the glossy skirting boards and the cowhide wallpaper in the entrance, this place had come into her life looking far more polished than she dared hope.
"I just knew this house was the one as soon as I saw it," says Marija, who is the acting GM of Stamford Plaza.
"It had everything I wanted. All the glamour was already here." When she moved here in December 2014, she had to do little more than pop on a little colour, add a little bling and finish with a splash of something deliciously fragrant.
From the first view into this property, her touches have set the scene for her entire decorative palette. Inside the tall bluestone fence to which she has added new security gates, she has planted a row of fragrant gardenia bushes.
By the front door she has potted up two New Zealand cranberry trees for texture and red fruiting colour.
Inside the cowhide-clad entrance, she has installed a large mirror that reflects the outdoors in through the open door. With its glossy black traditional frame, this favourite prop of Marija's has all the elements that confirm this home's place in the glamour stakes.
The house itself was designed in mid-2010 by Paperspaces' architectural designer Lynda Murphy for the previous owner who bought the property when it was little more than a basic old house and garage.
The narrow site delivered both design challenges and lifestyle possibilities for a home with a discreet, neighbourhood-friendly profile, with off-street parking at the front and outdoor living at the back.
Image 1 of 6: Experienced DIYer was planning to buy a renovation project before discovering this architecturally designed gem. Photos / Fiona Goodall, Getty Images
The house itself took shape in 2010/2011 against a backdrop that is the leafy bush beneath the Grey Lynn ridge line. It has deep pergolas front and back with room to breathe right around it, including a private west-facing deck off two of the three downstairs bedrooms.
Traditional internal features include curved corners, as well as white glossy skirting boards, scotias and architraves next to matt painted walls.
Marija is particularly impressed with the interior doors.
"I really like the doors," she says, touching the handles. "You can tell that no expense has been spared on the doors."
Ditto the guest powder room next to the main bathroom where the wall behind the toilet is in the same black and white wallpaper featured in the dining area.
Above the dining table, the chandelier is the obvious additional glamour element. Carrying the theme upstairs the previous owner installed two more in the stairwell and in the master bedroom. In the bedroom a Victorian fire surround with red tiles adds a decorative pop of colour and texture.
Even the utilitarian wet areas that are the bathrooms and the laundry have had their share of gloss applied, with high gloss cabinetry and large format textured floor tiles in keeping with the black and white colour palette. In the kitchen the theme is in the glossy cabinetry and the subtle sparkle of the engineered stone bench that extends beyond the bi-fold windows to become the bar on the deck.
"There is just nothing that needs to be done," says Marija. And therein lies her problem. She is itching for a project so she can roll up her sleeves again. 'I'm looking around this area for the right place. It needs to call out to me," she says.
