SCHOOL ZONES:
Grey Lynn, Ponsonby Intermediate, Western Springs College.
CONTACT:
Tricia Lafferty, Ray White, 021 611 205.
*one off street parking space
When the Christchurch earthquakes of 2011 tossed around life as he knew it, Cambel Ferguson packed up his 1960s Modernist home in Scarborough and moved to Auckland to sift through his options.
With an eye for contemporary art and design, he went house-hunting around inner-city waterside suburbs thinking he'd find a new, contemporary home to suit. It was a rather fruitless search until he learned this 1910 villa about to go on the market was talking his kind of language. "Contemporised" is the word Cambel uses to describe this house with its villa roof form at the front and its contemporary mono-pitch roofline at the back, unified by a sophisticated palette of colour and materials.
"I have come to a more classic home, which is partly contemporary and it's the renovated part that is more me," he says.
Beneath the veranda fretwork and front door, villa elements include board and batten ceilings in the front rooms and the villa archway in the hall, off which are the bedrooms, main bathroom and study.
Beyond the hallway, the open-plan dining area and kitchen step down to the open-plan living area and its deckside interface with what clinched it for Cambel -- the in-ground heated pool with swim jets.
"In summer it is amazing," says Cambel.
Image 1 of 8: The sharp influence of contemporary styling energises a handsome villa
This private rear garden with mature hedging is the backdrop to the dining area. Bifold windows open to the outdoor dining area beneath a louvred pergola.
This is also the vista seen from the front door and, with the new, improved garden, espaliered fruit trees, potted citrus and new artificial turf, it is a drawcard for visitors.
"Everyone who walks in here just can't believe it. At the end of the day, when you're sitting at the end of the pool and the sun is setting behind the trees and you can't see any other houses, you could be anywhere in the world."
Cambel Ferguson moved into a home with all the renovation work inside completed. Kauri floors had been lightened with a wash treatment. The lower panes of the sash windows and selective full-height picture windows had been frosted, draped or shuttered, as required, for privacy.
His eye for quality extends to the likes of the curtain rails and the designer pendant light set into the original villa ceiling roses in the front guest bedroom.
Across the hallway, in the master bedroom, the bay window is the key feature. During an earlier renovation, this bedroom was opened into the adjacent bedroom to create a dressing room with built-in cabinetry and an adjoining en suite.
The main bathroom is an extension of the palette of modern materials and styling, with its marble-look tiles, stepped down stainless shower and frosted glass panes flanking the splashback.
"I especially like the bathroom because it has a real architectural line to it and that was a big drawcard for me."
Behind the kitchen with its statement Carrara marble waterfall bench, there is more well planned functionality in a combined scullery/laundry that includes the refrigerator, the pantry, a sink, stainless bench and heated towel rail.
Cambel is used to moving house, having moved around Australia some years ago. This time, he is moving on to maximise his options ahead of plans for more extensive travel over the next few years.
