SCHOOL ZONES:
Takapuna School, Takapuna Normal Intermediate, Takapuna Grammar, Westlake Girls' and Westlake Boys' high schools.
CONTACT:
Winston Kidd and Beulah Thomson, Bayleys, ph 021 970 444 (Winston), 021 275 8068 (Beulah).
FEATURES:
Landmark three-storey Art Deco home. Gracious return driveway and dual entrances. Ocean views, roof deck, pool and expansive balconies. Ground-floor flat in need of TLC. Close to beach, shops and cafes.
Takapuna's landmark Art Deco home, Bradninch, is now tucked away out of sight from Hurstmere Rd, but once upon a time it featured an elegant gate with a large, circular centrepiece. Originally owned by one of the North Shore's most prominent families, Bradninch is still a commanding home, albeit onethat needs freshening up to restore it to its former glory.
Nicola Roberts, a great-granddaughter of George and Laura Nicks, the timber merchants who built Bradninch, says she has wedding photos of her parents, the late Pamela and William Gilbert, framed by the distinctive circular gate, with Bradninch in the background. Pamela was the daughter of George and Laura's son Logan Nicks and his wife, Joyce.
George and Laura also had a daughter, known affectionately as Billee, as well as another son, Rowan. Rowan, who is still alive, was a ground-breaking cardiothoracic surgeon who designed the first automatic pacemaker.
Nicola says she has limited memories of Bradninch as a child, but certainly recalls the fun of a home which pre-dates it known as "Nixieland", with a well and garden gnomes, in nearby Brett Ave, also built by George and Laura.
Adding to land on the seaward side of Hurstmere Rd that his mother, Mary, purchased from Henry Lloyd Brett (after whom Brett Ave is named) in 1905, George Nicks bought land at 208 and 210 Hurstmere Rd in 1941. He built Bradninch, named after an English town, in 1943. This property, and the others, passed out of the Nicks family's ownership in 1987.
Bradninch's current owner is Monica Johns. She hasn't had the property for long, but knows its previous residents and has attended "some truly amazing parties" on the home's roof deck. Accessed by a spiral staircase off a balcony, the roof deck is something to behold. The views are panoramic - with the sea and Rangitoto to the east, Takapuna and Auckland's CBD to the south and Lake Pupuke to the west.
From the street, the approach to Bradninch is via a grand return driveway. The landscaping complements the home's sculptural lines, with a large conifer hedge for privacy, stand-alone conifers, palms, agapanthus borders and ivy-clad walls, as well as a glamorous-looking swimming pool.
Up a sweep of stairs, flanked by magnolias, you come to a curved, covered entrance porch. "There's such a lovely view from this porch," says Monica. Inside the entry, on the middle floor, is a sinuous sweep of stairs leading to the uppermost level. Turn right from here and you come to the main living room, complete with a curved bank of windows.
Beautiful Art Deco features abound - including sliding doors that adjoin a formal dining room, which flows on to a sunroom. Above a pelmet in the dining room is a curved ceiling, complete with dramatic up-lighting. The nearby kitchen, updated in the 1980s, is white with lacquered cabinet fronts and a curved benchtop. The white marble bathroom is resplendent with Deco-style glass bricks and a generous bath.
Upstairs, four of the five bedrooms open on to balconies. There is also a further marble bathroom and a separate toilet. The master bedroom is directly above the spacious living room and enjoys the same elegantly curved proportions.
The lowest floor has a suite of rooms including a bedroom, dance studio, library, laundry, second kitchen, bathroom and internal access to a triple-car garage. This part of the house is particularly in need of attention, while the upper two floors could benefit from some cosmetic improvements.
Monica says this property would make an ideal project for someone with vision. "We did think we might return to Takapuna to live here," says Monica, who lived in the suburb 30 years ago with her late husband. Instead, though, she and her son Brendan have opted to continue splitting their time between a home in Clevedon and a Coromandel beach house.
