SCHOOL ZONES:
St Heliers Primary, Glendowie College.
CONTACT:
Neno Radinovich, 021 270 1487, or Teresa Weiss, 0272 868 439.
AUCTION:
Nov 30, 10am, 34 Shortland Street (unless sold prior).
*Plus off street
Buying a home built by a builder for himself, in this case Peter Ryan, has turned out to be a wise move for Liliana Erakovich and her husband Mladen who purchased the property in 2009 and lived there with their two daughters, now grown up, and Liliana's late mother.
In a quiet street just a few minutes' walk from the water's edge and bustling St Heliers village, the concrete and cedar house is modern and expansive, as solid as a rock and features some fascinating architectural details including built-in furniture and a mix of concrete floors with pebbled edging, rewarewa boards, and carpet.
The corner floor-to-ceiling windows in the main living room can be opened right out, allowing you to feel part of the colourful courtyard garden outside, with its ivy-covered walls and subtropical planting.
This room merges into the dining space and a big, contemporary kitchen with loads of sparkling granite bench space and louvre windows, which offer natural air conditioning. Liliana is a keen cook so she spends a lot of time in here.
A separate family room, adjacent to the kitchen, has views to the back garden and is sunny, serene and tranquil. Green feature walls characterise this space blending seamlessly with the lush and abundant garden outside.
"This is my favourite place to have a cup of coffee and read, when I have time," says the busy academic.
A bedroom with en suite, which was Liliana's mother's, a powder room and separate laundry plus the internally accessed double garage are also on this level.
Upstairs are three more bedrooms including the master with en suite and walk-in wardrobe plus a generous office which overlooks the ground floor. Even the bathrooms are bathed in sunlight with cleverly positioned blinds to ensure privacy.
Image 1 of 9: 12 Sylvia Rd, St Heliers, Auckland. Photograph/Ted Baghurst.
Liliana is a keen gardener and she's turned the 785sq m section into an urban oasis with a wonderful area for entertaining under a bright yellow retractable awning, and an outdoor pizza oven which is in use throughout the year.
"This is a true outdoor room," she says. There are vegetable and herb gardens and citrus and olive trees.
She's currently training jasmine on the back wall because she loves its scent.
She explains that a previous owner bought the bottom level of land to ensure its pleasant suburban views wouldn't be built out, and high walls around the property keep it peaceful and private.
There's always a lot of bird life around including a pair of brightly coloured parrots attracted to the jacaranda tree.
With their two daughters having more or less left home, the property is a bit too large for Liliana and Mladen, a ship's captain who is often away for long stretches of time piloting oil tankers.
Now, they're thinking that an apartment or perhaps a townhouse would suit them better. "I hope that the new owners will be a family with young children. Some of the plumbing is in place for a swimming pool which was going to be built but didn't go ahead, so they could make it happen for a start."
"And you couldn't possibly find a nicer neighbourhood," she says.
"We knew all the people around us by name after a few weeks and everyone is so nice."
