Mt Eden: A walk in the park

A fully renovated villa has a surprise at the end of its yard.

44 Dexter Avenue, Mt Eden. The thing Amanda Black and Chris Hocquard will miss most about their house is what's over the back fence - a little known suburban oasis by the name of Taylors Park.

"We set up the water slide over there, run the dog, have get-togethers with the neighbours on Friday evenings - it's been great," says Amanda. "After seven years it's going to be strange to live somewhere that doesn't have a park beside it."

A gate gives access to the park from the family's large back yard. This is as good a place to start a tour of the property as the front door. Beside an outdoor table and chairs on a small terrace, is a sleepout in the corner of the section. It even has an ante-room begging for a bathroom to make it the perfect teenager's set-up, or a home office.

At the end of the lawn is a dust-coloured concrete patio, beside which runs a boardwalk along the length of the rear extension, past four sets of French doors and several big windows. This gives the back of the 1910 villa the look of an elegant Queensland farmhouse.

From the patio you step into the family, dining and kitchen area, off which is the laundry and a bathroom. On the other side of the kitchen is the formal lounge. A hallway leads to four bedrooms and another bathroom. One of the bedrooms also opens to the back boardwalk and patio.

"It wasn't like this when we moved in. There were about five little rooms out here," recalls Amanda, gesturing to the airy kitchen, dining and family area.

The couple did up the house in two stages, between having their children, Ella, 6, and Finn, 4. They highly speced the kitchen with imported Binova components and German appliances.

"I wanted to take trouble over that," says Chris. "If you showed me through a house I wouldn't notice a hole in the wall, but I'd notice what sort of taps it had."

The family is upgrading to a bigger home a few streets away that is in zone for Auckland Grammar. Although it's on a large site, Amanda and Chris say they'll miss not being able to walk through a back gate to a park. This was what attracted them to the property in the first place, having come from another house nearby that had no lawn and little sun.

"We loved the big section - this place even had a Phoenix palm in the back yard which we eventually had to take out because it got too big," says Chris.

He adds that having a park in the middle of the suburb seems to soak up all the city noise.

"It's really quiet around here. We just hear the birds."

Vital Statistics

BEDROOMS: 4+

BATHROOMS: 2

GARAGE: 2

SIZE: Land 794sq m, house 230sq m.

PRICE INDICATION: CV (2005) $920,000. Auction February 26.

INSPECT: Sat/Sun 12-12.45.

CONTACT: Justine Koning or Colleen Strachan, Unlimited Potential, ph 0275 956 108 (Justine) or 021 283 6194 (Colleen).

FEATURES: Fully renovated family villa on north facing site, with gate access to Taylors Park behind it. Sleepout/studio with potential to incorporate a bathroom. In zone for Balmoral Primary.