SCHOOL ZONES:
Western Springs College, Westmere School, Ponsonby Intermediate.
CONTACT:
Jodie Bell 0274 287 720.
TENDER:
Closes 4pm, September 16.
Well before Owen Burn spotted a real estate agent hammering in a For Sale sign outside this Westmere townhouse, he had been impressed by the property's thoughtful urban design.
The townhouse is one of two designed by architect Felicity Wallace that won the Home of the Year Award in 1997.
The design was praised for excelling in the way it embraced the multiple challenges of placing two dwellings on a single site.
Owen, a town planner who likes modern, efficient design, says the townhouses appealed to him as a good example of a medium-density development in an old, established, inner-city suburb.
"They are reasonably sympathetic without being deferential and their design is dramatic," says Owen.
When he and his wife, Angie, bought the rear townhouse in 2008, it needed a tidy up, but Wallace's original design had, thankfully, not been altered.
The homes are positioned so they relate well to each other but remain distinct. To comply with height regulations, the front one features a dramatic, overscale roof pitched downward rather than up to preserve neighbours' views.
"We liked the fact that the townhouses are private from each other and that we have a very useful outdoor area that is not a maintenance burden."
The Burns' 197sq m house has a half share of 832sqm plot. Apart from its shared driveway and a small entrance courtyard, all of the Burns' land connects to their home's ground level living spaces which face north and northeast.
"The design means the house is sunny in both the summer and the winter. It is also remarkably quiet during the day and at night as Livingstone St has hardly any traffic."
The location is convenient for Owen, who works in Ponsonby and has a boat moored at Westhaven.
Image 1 of 5: Sleekly modern townhouse's style is sympathetic to surrounding properties
It is also a quick walk to West Lynn shops, is close to the Richmond Rd Countdown, Farro Fresh and Cox's Bay Reserve. The two-level home is constructed of concrete block and cedar with a monopitched Colorsteel roof.
Its original kitchen and bathrooms have stood the test of time and the layout and glazing in the living spaces, bedrooms and main bathroom ensures they capitalise on the sun.
Entry to the house is through the east-facing courtyard, where a wall of bifold doors leads into the open-plan foyer that flows to the kitchen, dining room and lounge. These doors, like the bifolds in all the living spaces, can open right back to create seamless indoor-outdoor living in good weather.
The double garage at the end of the shared driveway also gives direct access to the ground floor level.
The courtyard's floor is exposed river pebbles set in concrete which complements the minimalist, modern garden here, including strelitzias and bromeliads. The same river pebbles feature in the kitchen, dining room and second living room, this time with a ground concrete finish.
Decking flows off the bifolds from the dining room and second lounge. Here there's an outdoor dining area framed by a wisteria vine growing on a metal pergola.
Behind the lounge are the shared second bathroom and laundry, which open to a utility area tucked discreetly into one end of the large garden.
The garden also includes a petanque court lined with standard feijoa trees, a small citrus grove, small lawn and a cute wooden play hut for their young son, Llewelyn.
Upstairs are two double bedrooms including the master, which has a light-filled en suite and views across to Cox's Bay. A third, single bedroom and a landing with great cupboard storage and access to a Juliet balcony are on this level.
Owen says Angie and he love this home and did not intend to move but have revised their plans after "the unexpected and very happy surprise" of having Llewelyn three years ago.
