Devonport: A Solid Edwardian

21 Ewen Alison Avenue, Devonport.

An English couple were charmed by a traditional brick home with a Mediterranean edge.

French windows opened to deep porches, perfect for summer lounging. Paved courtyards caught morning and afternoon sun. Shell paths led to an orchard of figs, plums, feijoas, olives and avocados. A traditional double brick exterior opened to sunny Mediterranean-style open plan living. The current owners of 21 Ewen Alison Avenue, transplanted English couple Toby and Jo, couldn't believe how perfectly this 1910 villa met their brief when they were house hunting nine years ago.

"We'd lived in a charming wooden villa when we first moved here from England," explains Jo. "Like half of Devonport, we were drawn to look at this house because of the garden, but then realised how big and solid it was. We fell in love with the brick."

The house had been built by the gentleman next door for his son, changing hands in the early 1990s when he died. The second owners had doubled the size of the four-square house with a gallery-style living/dining room and a master bedroom extension. They carefully matched the brick exterior, adding bull-nosed verandahs and French doors all around the house in gracious Edwardian style and matching the wide plank flooring.

Toby and Jo tweaked the house to suit their family - they have two girls, now teenagers. The former master bedroom is now the living room, opening to the dining room through kauri bifold doors, milled to match existing joinery. French doors and a tiny Juliet balcony jutting into the plum tree create a feeling of tree-top living.

Skylights, high ceilings and a sunny Italian-plastered wall create a feeling of perpetual sunshine. The living room can be closed off for winter cosiness, and there's a tiny study tucked away here, too, for homework or browsing.

On the eastern side of the house, a Moroccan-style tiled courtyard invites morning coffee, while on the west French doors open to the shady verandahs and down to a bricked courtyard for dining.

"It's such easy living here," says Toby, "The petanque court is brilliant after a few jugs of Pimms on a sunny afternoon."

He even managed to entice 12 friends into carrying an enormous phoenix palm into the garden to provide shelter. A glance around the streets shows this plant was a favourite with early Devonport settlers entranced by the tropics and is fashionable once again. An Edwardian gazebo invites lingering on summer evenings when the Pimms takes effect.

The original formal living room has been converted to a private master suite. French doors open to the verandahs on two sides, inviting drifting breezes in the summer and warming low sunlight in the winter. The family had planned to convert the level beneath the sitting room into a rumpus room, adding terracing and a lap-pool to the bottom of the garden. But as is often the way, they have decided to purchase a house with pool already sorted, and will move on from their Edwardian lifestyle.

Vital Statistics:

BEDROOMS: 4

BATHROOMS: 2

GARAGE: 1

SIZE: Land 696sq m, house 160 sq m plus 42sq m of decks.

PRICE INDICATION: CV (2005) $1.02 million. Tenders close March 1.

INSPECT: Sun 12-1 pm, Mon 6.30-7.30pm.

CONTACT: Victoria Bidwell, Bayleys, ph 021 947 080.

FEATURES: 1910 brick villa with careful 1990s addition. Original ceilings, kauri floors, bay windows and extensive wraparound verandah. Open living, dining and kitchen with study. Delightful terraced garden, with fruit trees, entertainment courtyards and Edwardian style gazebo.