SCHOOL ZONES:
Matangi School, Berkley Normal Middle School, Cambridge and Hillcrest High Schools.
CONTACT:
Rachelle Jackson, Bayleys, 027 342 5199.
AUCTION:
Feb 17.
Faye and Ken Douglas appreciate the privilege of living in this heritage property, known as the JT Bryant House and almost a century old.
They have owned the Californian bungalow for more than 27 years, making them only the sixth owners since it was built in 1920.
The house, designed in 1918 by noted architect Frederick Daniels, is about 1km from Matangi village, and is known for its distinctive facades visible from the road. Special features include the tiled gable roof and stucco finish, arched porch, casement windows and projecting sills.
"It was built for JT Bryant, John Thomas Bryant, commonly known as Tom Bryant and he has quite a history with the New Zealand Dairy Board," says Faye. "He farmed here and had properties all over the place.
"It was a 152-acre property, he bought it in 1907 and subdivided this three acres off where he built the house, in 1920."
Faye and Ken have the original house plans, sourced from the Waikato Museum.
"It is amazing the way they are drawn," says Faye.
"All the timber was bought in rough sawn, the garage was built first. It is built of kilned fired blocks and has a thick stucco on the outside. And fair-faced plaster on the inside. The walls are all darn straight.
"When we bought this, it had eight power points in the whole house; so we have put lots and lots of power points in and redone the plumbing and drainage."
Faye says the house dates back to an era where meals were cooked on a coal range and a copper was an essential laundry item. The original toilet was on the back porch.
"We have basically restored the whole house, keeping as many original features as possible. It has some stunning lead lights and lots of rimu. We restored the kitchen - it has the original tiles - the original splash back. We put the tiles in in the bathroom, made to match the ones in the kitchen."
Image 1 of 6: All the wonder of yesteryear is here -- but brought up to date for modern living. Photos / supplied
Enter the home through the front door, with its leadlight glass, and you'll find yourself in a rimu panelled foyer. A wide hallway leads to a spacious living room with an open fireplace.
There are five bedrooms, each with built-in wardrobes, and three bedrooms have French doors opening to the west veranda. The family bathroom - with clawfoot bath and pull chain toilet - is at the end of the hallway. The second living room has a log burner plus wetback and leads to the kitchen and scullery. French doors access an entertainment area, and there's a separate laundry with an extra toilet outside.
"A lot of the features are almost art nouveau," says Faye. "There are wind-out windows at the top of the lounge windows and they are all leadlight matching the glass in the front door."
For heating Faye and Ken have the log fire in the family room, another fireplace in the lounge, and a heat pump in the hallway. Being concrete, once the house warms up it stays warm.
"We have the original old garage which was a double garage but Ken is using it as a workshop. We built a three-car garage, which has hot water and sink bench, to match the house. And then we have a Total Span large shed which can house five cars easily. We have tractors and ride-ons, trucks and Model Ts in there.
"We also have the original tank stand with the water at the top and the safe underneath that is our woodshed in winter."
Faye, a keen gardener, has landscaped the 1.2141ha property, including post and rail fences and three paddocks for animals, keeping the design for garden, lawn, orchards, pond and potager gardens to a plan that needs only minimum maintenance so their spare time can be devoted to fishing and going to their bach at Taupo.
But now that Ken, a plumber by trade, has retired, they are moving to another block of land where he plans to build more sheds to house his growing collection of old cars.
Faye says: "We don't want to leave but it is too big for us. It needs a family here who can use the home to its full capacity."
