IRIS STONE visits a home that is full of the charms of yesterday, with modern luxury where it matters.
As you promenade in the large, beautifully landscaped gardens of a house called Aldon, your senses are filled with the romance of another era. Perhaps it's the intoxicating whiff of lavender, or
the English rose garden and sweet-smelling perennials in the long herbaceous border that make you slow down a pace and your mind wander. The picturesque house at the end of Aldon Lane in Manurewa inspires many nostalgic notions.
Built in 1884, Aldon is surrounded by extensive gardens and a tennis court which echo those from it original incarnation - not in Manurewa but close to the Upland Road shops in what became Remuera Road.
Nobody knows who the architect was, but the theory is it was a Canadian who built the steeply pitched roof and dressed the eaves decoratively with timber shingles to cope with snowfalls. A fine example of quirky colonial architecture, the house was constructed of kauri and its floors are still the original kauri, except for the library/billiard room, which is a later addition.
About 14 years ago, the house was shifted to a lifestyle block at the end of Hill Road and a garden created around it. At this stage it was given new foundations, a new Colorsteel roof, it was re-wired and re-plumbed.
Grand architectural lines were enhanced by the installation of a broad, old-fashioned verandah that wraps around the corner of the living room and formal dining room. Doors now open onto the verandah, giving a much better indoor/outdoor flow.
Owners seized the opportunity to modernise certain aspects of the house, taking advantage of the town water supply, sewerage and reticulated gas. But they were careful to preserve its charming original features. They retained the beautiful pressed steel ceiling in the dining room and added another grand fireplace in the sitting room to mimic the one that existed in the adjacent formal dining room.
A third fireplace in the den, or family room, was installed with a modern Jetmaster fire for greater efficiency. Both the den and dining room also have bayonets for gas heating. All chimneys were rebuilt on inside walls. The old bricks were cleaned and turned into paths and walls that give structure to the gardens.
Original brass fingerplates and doorknobs came from Ladies College, which once stood in Garden Road in Remuera. Owners replaced the plates and knobs on doors where they were missing with cleverly crafted replicas.
During a more recent makeover, a commercial stainless steel Ilve oven with gas hobs and double electric oven were added to the kitchen, better equipping the house for the lavish style of entertaining that it is ideally suited to host.
No need to travel to buy the vegetables. Cook can nip out the back door to the comprehensive raised herb and vegetable gardens which overflow with cauliflowers, broccoli, silverbeet, rhubarb, spring onions, beans and strawberries. Big, juicy lettuces burst through soil in the glass house.
Upstairs, a large, walk-in wardrobe was converted to a modern ensuite bathroom with corner glass shower, basin vanity and mist-free mirror. Space the length of one wall is now substantial built-in storage behind a wall of cupboards. Sweeping views across the valley to the distant Manukau Heads in the west are enjoyed through a big picture window.
Adjacent to the property are the extensive grounds of Totara Park, where rolling open farmland, gentle streams and large tracts of native bush offer walks for the young at heart.
Another two bedrooms preside over different aspects, including the Ardmore Hills to the south. With its dormer windows and storage under the eaves, the larger room of the two provides an enchanting place for children to play.
These two rooms look down on an avenue of cherry and Plane trees leading to a vast island dominated by a mature Phoenix palm and a two-car garage with automatic door, substantial work area, laundry, toilet and shower. Even the garage is pretty, topped with an enchanting steel weather vane.
In the summer, the family will swear they've gone to heaven as they enjoy barbecues on the verandah overlooking the lawn and watch the sunset fade after a day spent swimming in the pool.
With the Regional Botanical Gardens and many good schools nearby, Aldon provides an enviable country lifestyle only two minutes from the motorway, five minutes from Manukau City and 15 minutes from downtown Auckland.
Vital Statistics
Address: 7 Aldon Lane, Manurewa
Features: Landscaped grounds and glasshouse with computerised watering system; eight-segment formal rose garden and herbaceous border surrounded by a white sasanqua hedge; swimming pool, 10m x 5m and 1.5m-2m deep, with automatic chlorinator; three bedrooms, master with ensuite, plus family bathroom upstairs, guest bathroom downstairs; burglar alarm; jetmaster in den.
Size: Land 22.88 hectares, can be divided up into four lifestyle blocks if desired.
Price: Tenders invited, price indicator: $1million-plus.
Agents: Barfoot & Thompson Remuera, (09) 524 0149; Janet Barnard, a/h (09) 520 1352, mob. 021 942 011; Robert Davies, a/h 268 1452, mob. 025 595 767.
IRIS STONE visits a home that is full of the charms of yesterday, with modern luxury where it matters.
As you promenade in the large, beautifully landscaped gardens of a house called Aldon, your senses are filled with the romance of another era. Perhaps it's the intoxicating whiff of lavender, or
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