CONTACT:
Becs Peacocke ph 021 741 060 or
Chris Batchelor ph 021 217 7026.
With the frenzy that has grown around houses in Grey Lynn and Ponsonby, it is hard to remember that 12 years ago these streets were sleepy and neglected. It was a dandy time for film and props/costume maker John and Lucy Lithgow to spot the potential in a grand old villa on Williamson Ave.
"It had been a rental, with the ceilings lowered. It needed everything doing to it," recalls John. "We rewired, redid footings, insulated, made it watertight, did a brand new roof."
"And gas central heating," adds Lucy. "I'm English and couldn't get over how freezing New Zealand houses are."
Fortunately, the bones of the 1913 villa remained under layers of bad 60s and 70s conversions: big windows, ceiling mouldings, architraves, wide matai floorboards. The lean-to kitchen and family room at the sunny back of the house - a 1917 addition - was ripe for conversion to a modern family room and kitchen.
The couple was determined not to do one of those soulless modern box blow-outs favoured by renovators today.
Lucy brought an English sensibility to the Shaker-style kitchen cabinets, colouring them a vintage pastel green to complement her vast collection of Poole (where she's from) china, adding a deep butler's sink and large cooker. The meticulous finish, by a boat builder friend, extends to the kwila benchtops, sturdy and warm. John and Lucy laugh that if they'd realised how much the kitchen bench would become the heart of the home, site of Lucy's "wine Fridays" and many hordes of kids, they would have made it twice the size. The covered back dining area has a wonderful mural of Bethells Beach - left from a job of John's - bringing the tropical, leafy world to their secluded garden.
"Lucy is the Pied Piper of Grey Lynn Primary," says John. "There's always about 10 kids milling about with our sons. I had to make a tree-hut, but inside, the house holds the numbers. Everyone follows the sun around. Often, at the end of the day, we end the day on the front steps. People wave and toot. This is an old-fashioned, friendly, neighbourhood street."
It is that friendly front-porch idea that prompted the family to sell. John and Lucy had plans to scoop out under the house for a double garage and a working studio, topped by an extended front deck. But, as is often the way, as they scouted ideas they found a house nearby that has those spaces sorted, so will be moving. The next owners may want to use the plans.
The five-bedroomed house has stretched to extended family: John's teenage brother (in a nicely fitted-out sleep-out, the envy of all his friends), and there's plenty of room for Lucy's family on extended visits from England. Four years ago, the Lithgows extended into the villa's roof, creating a pretty, attic-style master suite with views across the valley and park to a sea glimpse, with plenty of storage and an en suite bedroom. The second bedroom up here is John's office.
Downstairs are three generous double bedrooms, all with the 3.5m ceilings and gracious windows the couple restored. The family bathroom bears Lucy's styling input, with English-style fittings and charming built-in cupboards.
The couple get a little sentimental about leaving the house their family has grown up in, but feel sure that the next family will fill this place with as much love and energy as theirs has. Lucky someone.
