The property stands at the park end of no-exit Golf Rd, near where Fern Ave quietly forks away. The main driveway (with turning bay) runs up the front of the property to a double garage the Crums added. The original driveway from near the tip of Golf Rd also remains, currently as a grassy corridor supplementing the front lawn.
The grounds are lush with mature trees. Alison loves how quickly the ambience changes from suburban street to leafy retreat as she comes up the drive. Stairs with art nouveau-style balustrading lead up to a little deck prefacing the front door. It's a good spot to admire a couple of charming curved leadlight windows on this face of the home. The foyer displays a kauri floor which David was delighted to find under carpet.
A picturesque window seat beckons under more leadlight windows in the main lounge, which has three pairs of extraordinarily pretty leadlight sliding doors opening it up to adjoining rooms. The sunny north-facing room has dark, chunky timber ceiling beams and French doors to a side deck.
Behind it, the original panelled hall is a golden heart kauri showcase. A brass statuette lamp on the newel post introduces a grand kauri staircase. Its under-stair storage cupboard could make way for internal basement access if desired. (There's a long-unused extra bathroom and bunkroom there awaiting renovation, plus plentiful basement storage).
There's also a toilet and a separate laundry off the hall. The front study, with marble-surround fireplace and leadlight bay window, is a good-size room which could be a fifth bedroom.
The Crums' myriad renovations included creating sunny living in an open-plan kitchen-dining-family room that opens to a side deck and rear outdoor living. This spread looks over the pool to the park's western hills and trees around its olive grove. "People come through and say: 'Wow, there's the park!'."
The front of the gas-heated swimming pool is fenced in glass and at the rear there's a higher rock wall adorned with a lion's head fountain. This offers a degree of privacy from the park. Alison enjoys friends passing in the park waving "hello" through a couple of notches in the wall. Standing in the kitchen she says: "When the children were young they could be just over our back fence in the park with me still keeping an eye on them from here".
Alison understands this end of the house originally would have been its front. A covered area off its French doors suits al fresco meals, with herbs growing in raised beds on the patio outside the kitchen. Side outdoor steps down to the garage are gated, making the property's rear completely secure for young ones such as family spoodle puppy, Ruby.
The kauri staircase's large curved window is one of the finest of the many leadlight windows. Upstairs are four bedrooms including the expansive master. It boasts a wide window-seat with deftly crafted timberwork and opens to a sunroom overlooking the front grounds.
Splendid vintage terrazzo adorns the walls and floor of the family bathroom. Its polished aggregate finish incorporates reddish-grey geometric shapes, adding vintage charm to the curvaceous deco bath, shower and neighbouring toilet.
The Crums have spent nearly two decades watching the park's spring lambs, seasonal trees and yearly spike of runners motivated by New Year's resolutions. But their three daughters have grown and they no longer need a large family home.
