22A GEORGE ST, MT EDEN, AUCKLAND
SIZE:
Land 400sq m, house approx 216sqm.
PRICE INDICATION:
Interest is expected above $1 million. Auction November 4 unless sold prior.
INSPECT:
Saturday/Sunday 3pm-3.40pm or by appointment.
SCHOOL ZONES:
Mt Eden Normal School, Kowhai Intermediate, Auckland Girls' Grammar, Mt Albert Grammar.
CONTACT:
Pene Milne, Premium Herne Bay, ph 021 919 940 or 360 6996.
FEATURES:
Award-winning 2007 contemporary home adjacent to Monkey Hill Reserve. Includes open-plan living-dining-kitchen opening to large deck, intimate wood-lined "round room", master suite with en suite and dressing room, plus internal-access double garage.
A stint living in London inspired this Mt Eden couple to have a strikingly cosy retreat incorporated into the award-winning contemporary home they were building.
Justin and Hayley Mowday bought an empty section in George St in 2005, after confirming their old friend, architectural designer Noel Jessop, could design them
a home for it. The couple had long appreciated Noel's cleverness with clean lines and modern materials.
"We wanted a modern home with quite a contemporary edge," Hayley says. "But while we were living in London we saw a lot of mansions with great cigar rooms and libraries, so we also wanted to incorporate a really cosy room."
They started talking to Noel about 1970s conversation pits, which helped inspire him to design the "round room" - an intimate wood-lined lounge that oozes atmosphere.
It's an often-commented upon feature of their two-storey home, which deftly combines two living areas, indoor-outdoor flow to a big deck, three bedrooms and a splendid dressing room, two bathrooms and an internal-access double garage on a 400sq m site. The home is crafted from block, Alucabond (aluminium composite panels) and lots of glass.
Completed in 2007, it's won a slew of awards, including the Supreme Award and the best New Residential Dwelling under 250sq m at the Resene National Design Awards 2008.
The home is located down a driveway near the end of a street off upper Dominion Rd. Visitors enter via a path reminiscent of a boardwalk, near the internal-access double garage with laundry. The entry hallway leads to a choice of living areas. A custom-made green sofa (included with the sale) spoons the round room's curved walls, opposite dark-oak cabinetry incorporating a wide gas fire and concealing a television, bar and wine fridge.
Like most of this level, the open-plan kitchen-living-dining room enjoys the stylish practicality of concrete floors with under-floor heating. This area opens up on two sides to a big, private deck, where the couple's two children, 5-year-old Lila Rouge and 3-year-old Rocco, love to play. The European-inspired kitchen features clean lines, American walnut veneer and the exceptional skills of Hayley's father, cabinetmaker Graham Williams. Around the corner is a toilet and integrated storage.
The master suite upstairs includes a bedroom filled with light, thanks to a wall of glass and a wide over-bed window capturing views over surrounding suburbs. The neighbouring en suite is spacious, sheathed in limestone tiles and featuring double basins and a big double shower. Hayley adores the adjacent dressing room with its built-in blonded oak cabinetry and exquisite wallpaper.
The children's rooms are upstairs too; Rocco's has an in-cupboard study and a great view to Eden Park, and Lila Rouge's enjoys a leafy outlook. The "kids' bathroom" is actually a polished zone suitable for children or adults which includes a bath and toilet.
Justin says one of the things he's enjoyed most is watching the children grow up in the house. In summer, the kids ride their bikes or splash in a paddling pool on the deck. "In winter we all hunker down in the round room in front of the fire", he says.
Neighbouring Monkey Hill Reserve is a handy play area and venue for the local Easter egg hunt. The reserve's quirky name harks from two monkeys kept there by the late MP and steamship tycoon, Captain James Henry Bradney.
The couple are ready for new challenges, so have decided the time is right to offer their award-winning home for sale.
