SCHOOL ZONES:
Auckland Grammar, Mt Eden Normal Primary, Mt Albert Grammar.
CONTACT:
Mike Robson, Harcourts, 021 484 288.
AUCTION:
July 1.
Bruce and Rachel McMurray's home was once a 110-year-old Mt Eden villa. And it still is, at least on the outside, with its little roadside veranda enclosed by stained-glass windows.
On the inside, though, everything is shiny and modern. Bruce is a builder and has high standards, says Rachel, and spent about two years on the transformation, attending to the smallest details.
He says although he likes the look of villas he prefers to live in more modern and spacious surroundings.
The result is his compromise to the old; but pretty much everything else is new, from the bedrooms to the polished concrete floors of the lounge, which cover the old kauri floors.
That might seem like sacrilege to some but Bruce says people don't want to live in draughty old villas anymore and these floors are heated.
"I just like contemporary space out the back of something old. It's what people like now. You know, they're sort of sick of the old timber floors."
Now, when you come in the front door, you walk on soft carpet past three of the bedrooms, then step down into an expansive open-plan lounge, dining and kitchen area.
A wall of windows, which have electric blinds, open up to allow the private lawn beyond to be part of the living area.
Wooden decking leads to steps, which cross the lawn to an outdoor seating area with a roaring ethanol fire, perfect for barbecues and gatherings, and the horizontal fence, instead of the traditional upright palings, seems to stretch the backyard and make it even bigger.
Image 1 of 8: Century-old villa still in tip-top condition with its luxurious interior flowing out to the subtropical-style lawn
The couple planted a lot of palms, aiming for a subtropical look, and have a hanging hedge built into part of the fenceline on one side and a hanging herb garden built into the fence on the other.
The indoor/outdoor flow works a treat and Rachel says it's great, "because you can be working in the kitchen and you're still part of the outdoors, because you're right here. The doors open right up and it all just flows out."
She especially likes the position of the fourth bedroom which takes advantage of the outdoor vista and which could easily be used as an office.
Gone is the tiny, cubbyhole bathroom they had when they first moved here eight years ago. It has been replaced by a modern en suite in the master bedroom, with basalt-style tiles and a walk-in wardrobe and a sleek elongated limestone bath from South Africa.
The look is followed through in the main bathroom, except the elongated oval bath here is bigger.
Only the front of the house and one wall remains of the old villa, though Rachel says when they first walked in, they loved the light feel of the house.
One of her favourite things is the carpet, "because when you sit on it, it feels exactly like Bruce's mum's woollen jumpers. It's just really nice carpet, it's beautiful, and with all the heating all throughout it's warm and it's just nice and cosy."
The grey carpet "casuals" the rest of the interior, which is painted white. This makes it easy to change the decor, by adding bright furnishings.
The couple are moving into the Epsom Girls' Grammar zone for when daughter Abby gets older, but will miss the location so close to town, the train and Mt Eden Village.
They will also miss the old-fashioned neighbourliness. There are street drinks and Rachel says when they first moved in they were touched when a neighbour brought round a feta and spinach pie to welcome them.
