KEY POINTS:
1/35 ARTHUR STREET,
ONEHUNGA HEIGHTS.
House-hunting for your son can have unexpected side-effects.
Just ask Dawn and Chris Anderson, who in 2006 were happily ensconced in the home they'd just renovated, the original Postmaster's residence upstairs in the old Onehunga Post Office. Then they went house-hunting for their
son, who owns cafe Columbus Coffee Onehunga downstairs in the building.
An evening stroll highlighted a great house for him in Arthur St, Onehunga Heights, plus a mid-1800s colonial villa a few doors down being auctioned the next day. They popped in. Dawn recalls: "I thought it was really grotty inside. But then I looked through a small window upstairs and realised, `Oh my God, it's got fabulous sea views - we can do something with this'." The couple won the auction the next day.
They'd always wanted to do a big renovation. They certainly had that on their hands to reinstate the grandeur the home had enjoyed when built for the owner of Onehunga's original sawmill. Part of it was sectioned off as a flat, the decor combined pink and iridescent green and landscaping largely consisted of river stones.
Architect and interior designer Vicki Whittle, of Overall Conceptz, helped advise them on how best to retain original charm but incorporate modern flair while returning the colonial beauty to a single dwelling. Priorities during the two-year overhaul were creating great indoor-outdoor entertainment options and opening the home up wherever possible to admire elevated views over the Manukau Harbour.
The home has a lovely presence; its three levels of living with two broad, covered front verandahs towering grandly behind the white picket fence. Dawn reinvented the front garden early in the piece, much to the chagrin of builders who had to hurl demo materials clear of the brass fountain, iceberg roses and gardenias.
The lead-lit entrance reveals one of the home's seven fine chandeliers lighting the entrance hall. Sumptuous taffeta curtains are also recurrent, found first on French doors to the verandah in the front formal lounge with period wood-burning fireplace. Further back, entertaining flows easily throughout the dining area, vast kitchen in American oak and the family room where built-in shelving accommodates a laptop workspace. Spare kauri wall boards were re-machined to supplement the kauri flooring, which is stained dark and well lit by many additional windows and French doors. A gas fire is near the kitchen, which has a Corian bench, double ovens and a wealth of pantry space.
Upstairs, Dawn loves the master suite's views, imagining the sawmilling owner watching his boats arriving in the harbour. The master opens to a small deck and the en suite beside its walk-in wardrobe gleams in marble. The front three rooms opening to the upper verandah consist of two bedrooms flanking a bathroom with a floor-mounted tap feeding its clawfoot slipper bath.
The fourth bedroom in the attic space is well lit thanks to its dormer and roof windows and would also be an ideal study or the sort of rumpus room teens dream of.
Outdoor entertaining choices are myriad; a side courtyard behind the front double garage, plus rear lawn and decks supplementing the front verandahs.
Chris is a ski buff and the couple also own a large Oakune property with extensive gardens, so have decided to sell Onehunga in favour of a more "lock-up-and-leave" Auckland base.