Built in 1918 and dubbed Clifton Manor by real estate agents, a stately five-bedroom gem on the Takapuna coastline doesn't resemble weatherboard villas of its era.
This one is special. There are three storeys - if you count the converted attic - with original oak panelling adding warmth and style to the rendered double brick exterior, and the first level has beautiful wooden parquet flooring with classic geometric patterns.
Owners Susan and John Amos don't know an awful lot about the home's history but do know it was built for a Miss Howie, the unmarried daughter of a wealthy family of importers. In those days it had an orchard and more land and gardens but over the years it has been subdivided. There is still a private swimming pool at the back and an elegant, sweeping driveway out front. At one time the 14th Governor-General of New Zealand, Sir David Beattie, raised his children here.
Susan and John moved in 35 years ago. They bought the house from friends, shifting from only around the corner where they were living in Hauraki Rd. They arrived with three children and had two more but although there were a lot of young people in the house at times, no one was crowded out. And this is what Susan loves about the home: there are so many rooms and unexpected corners and spaces where she has placed couches and chairs and where she sometimes likes to sit and embroider or where children can find a quiet place for homework.
