62 ROSE ROAD,
GREY LYNN.
KEY POINTS:
After spending "wasted hours" in London's horrendous traffic jams, David and Karen Barnett vowed that when they returned to New Zealand in 1998, they would live somewhere central, within walking distance of amenities and close to their workplaces.
"In London, our jobs involved a lot of travel," says David who, with Karen, originally hails from Feilding. "But that travel time was a waste of time. We wanted to live somewhere we didn't have to drive everywhere."
They found jobs in Auckland and started looking at real estate around Ponsonby Rd. They settled on this kauri villa on the corner of Rose Rd and Millais St, attracted by its elevated position.
They call it their "house on the hill" and enjoy views of the Sky Tower and the Waitakeres.
And they have kept true to their promise of short commutes. Karen works in the city and David is based on the North Shore. "My work is close," says David. "And I am going against the traffic both ways."
Karen says the supermarket and shops are just down the road, and "we can walk up to Ponsonby Rd for breakfast, plus Grey Lynn Park is only two minutes away. The kids love it there and it has a toddlers' swimming pool, which is free."
So with that major purchase completed in 2001, Karen and David settled in and started working out what alterations they would make to the villa, built in the late 1890s.
The first thing they did was replace the retaining wall around the section.
Karen says: "We slowly plodded along. And, when our second child came along, we decided to make the lean-to area into a family area. Isabelle was born just as the new kitchen was going in."
The bathroom had been in the lean-to, so they converted a bedroom into a large bathroom - which is now David's pride and joy. "We like having big, deep baths and I wanted a shower large enough that you didn't bang your head on it."
The large living area, of about 53sq m, takes the place of the lean-to. Under the residential zoning, renovations and extensions had to be in keeping with original character. The Barnetts sourced kauri beams, which they had milled into flooring, and sash windows.
A large skylight in the living room highlights the kauri floor's golden tones. "At night, we look up at the stars and planes going overhead," says Karen.
It's hard, now, to imagine the house without this spacious living area, and its cedar bifolds opening out to the sun-drenched back garden. Daughters Belinda, 5, and Isabelle, 3, make the most of this space, skipping down the two steps to play in the fenced back garden.
The house is accessed from the front verandah or from the Millais St garage steps. From the front, you enter the wide hallway with master bedroom on the right and the girls' shared bedroom on the left. Next on the left is the bathroom, with the spare bedroom to the right, and then through a doorway into the kitchen and living area.
The kitchen is equipped with stainless steel appliances, including a large stove with electric oven and gas cooking top. The kitchen island has generous drawer and cupboard storage and is topped by solid granite.
Gardens at the front and rear of the house are easy care and feature a mix of buxus, tercrium, pittosporums, kapuka and ficus.
The Barnetts are selling because they have started another property project. But they won't be moving out of the neighbourhood. "It's a great area," says Karen, "with lots of young families around."