SCHOOL ZONES:
Double Grammar, Auckland Girls’ Grammar School, Mt Albert Grammar School, Mt Eden Normal, Auckland Normal Intermediate.
CONTACT:
Liz Derbyshire & David Dowse, Barfoot & Thompson Ponsonby, mob 021 661 978 (Liz) or 0274 993 319 (David).
*Plus 2+ off-street
Although historic properties aren't unusual in Mt Eden, Ellamore is. The analytically-minded will know properties one minute's walk from the heart of Mt Eden Village on 1444sq m grounds -- that's equivalent in size to roughly five-and-a-half tennis courts -- are not the norm.
Intuitive souls may respond more to the tapestry or other characteristics forming this property's old-worldy essence; a private, almost secretive setting, a charming rambling home grown from a mid-1800s homestead, echoes of history, far-reaching views and intriguing grounds.
Katherine O'Keeffe recognised the distinctiveness of Ellamore well before she moved here from Mt Albert with her daughter 13 years ago.
"I had noticed this property years before that despite it being hidden away because I used to park my car down this no-exit street and catch the bus into university.
"Back then I didn't realise it was so extensive, but to me it was like a private treasure which had many riches waiting to be discovered.
"Everyone who comes here says, 'What a gorgeous property', 'and so close to the village' and 'I didn't even know that this existed'."
Katherine understands original deeds were lost in a fire but thinks the colonial-style home started life around the mid-1800s. Significant early owners the Gray family bestowed the name Ellamore after their Scottish estate. Several Gray descendants attended a 150th party Katherine held in the home's honour.
"They used to have literary afternoons here on Sundays apparently, reading from worthy tomes," she says.
"This red beech is a commemorative tree which was planted by one of the Gray daughters who lost her fiance in the First World War."
Essex Rd, the only no-exit street off Mt Eden Village's central traffic lights, has Ellamore quietly nestled at its tip some 200m from the intersection.
Previous owners were sympathetic to the main home's architecture when they built the separate two-storey artists' studio which fronts the grounds. Its loft-style room tops another, lined with books for many years.
The studio and fencing edging the front parking pad shield the grounds. Inside the main gate the property's rich ambience is immediately palpable. Less conspicuous from this angle is the home's two-storey nature.
Five sets of French doors open to the shelter of the front veranda admiring the level front lawn.
Visitors are often welcomed into the big kitchen-dining-informal living area with gas fireplace. Polished recycled timber flooring blurs the fact that previous owners created this big open-plan space by extending.
Katherine installed the roomy granite-benched farmhouse-style kitchen where Pomeranian Bertie, Yorkshire terrier Rosie and cats Nimrod and Louis simultaneously demand food.
The chandelier-lit formal living room has a salon-like aura. This is enhanced by its beamed ceiling, sumptuous drapes and a fireplace which crackles with logs in winter.
The westerly veranda with original leadlight glass is a legacy of the property's entrance once having been off Ashton Rd. This veranda and several of the upstairs' four bedrooms are prime spots from which to admire far-reaching views towards the Waitakeres.
Image 1 of 6: Ellamore offers the charm of yesteryear on an expansive site in a prime location
"It's beautiful watching the sunsets and at night you can really pick out constellations of stars."
Rounding out upstairs are two bathrooms, a laundry, which started life as the scullery, plus a utility room.
Linked by an internal staircase, the lower level living-kitchen-dining with bedroom, bathroom and its own entrance can be part of the main household, guest accommodation or rented out. Additional storage space bolsters this downstairs set-up.
There's much in the grounds that'd fuel children's imaginations during explorations, from volcanic rock steps and a grape arbour to a dolls' house shed and plentiful well-established trees.
Katherine says it's time for another family to enjoy the double-Grammar-zoned property.
