Mt Eden's central location, proximity to the city and its sought-after state schools also appealed to the Pendergrasts who wanted to send their children to local schools and who both work at Auckland Hospital.
Pencarrow Ave is in zone for Auckland Grammar, Epsom Girls' Grammar, Auckland Normal Intermediate and Epsom Normal School; all of which are within easy walking or busing distance.
The two-storey home, with several Arts and Crafts features, was designed by Auckland architects Noel Bamford and Hector Pierce.
Both men worked together in the London office of major English architect Edwin Lutyens before they came home and designed some of Auckland's most aesthetically acclaimed buildings, including Coolangatta in Remuera, Neligan House in Parnell and the original Tea Kiosk in the Auckland Domain.
When the Pendergrasts moved in, their house had tired 1960s' decor and 'stuck out like a sore thumb', sitting on a surfeit of asphalt, says David.
But its original, stately bones - a gently curved shingle roof, spacious, high studded living spaces and four generous upstairs bedrooms - were intact.
Over the years, the Pendergrasts have done a series of renovations which are sympathetic to its original character.
The first thing that strikes you about this property is how cleverly its landscaping complements both the scale and pedigree of the house.
With input from landscape designer Barbara Garrett, Lois has created a bold, French-style garden with mass groupings of mainly evergreen plants including camellias, azaleas, liriope and daphne - reined in by box hedging and softened with roses and deciduous trees, including magnolia and copper beech.
A solid-wood, east-facing kitchen on the entrance level occupies the space once taken by three rooms: the kitchen, the bathroom and the laundry.
Designed with a family in mind, the kitchen has multiple spaces for food preparation and adjoins a large formal dining room that opens to a north-facing tiled patio that runs along the north side of the house and also opens off the formal lounge.
The patio, which replaced the 1960s' decking, connects the house with the garden, creating a seamless, indoor-outdoor flow that makes the house easy in which to entertain.
"We've easily been able to entertain more than 100 people at a time without the house feeling crowded," says David.
Both the formal lounge and dining room open off a large central entranceway on the ground floor, which also has the kitchen and a spacious, south-facing family and TV room opening off it and looking out to the garden and street.
A one-car garage on the south side of the house has been replaced with a three-storey one. This now has a mezzanine floor which is used as a fifth bedroom and living space suitable for either teenagers or boarders.
It will be difficult leaving such a beautiful home, which is full of many fond, family memories but the Pendergrasts are ready to move into a smaller home now that their adult children are moving out.
