Into the light of Ponsonby's Franklin Rd

In a community-oriented street, this handsome old villa will light up some lucky person's life. VICKI HOLDER visits.

Christmas is especially festive for the residents of Ponsonby's Franklin Rd. Homeowners set their homes aglow, enthusiastically draping them with multiple strands of colourful fairy lights. Launched each season with a riotous neighbourhood party attended by local dignitaries, the Christmas light-up is a time of community spirit and celebration. And for the rest of Auckland, the annual parade along the sparkling avenue, lined with huge old plane trees, has become a compulsory event for many families.

Moving to Auckland from a farm up north, one couple was captivated by the traditional farmhouse character of this particularly high, wide and handsome old villa, located halfway along the street. It didn't take long before the couple and their grandchildren were enticed into the community spirit unleashed by the fun Christmas ritual.

"Whoever buys the property must put up the lights. They are part of the chattels," they were told. It was just the kind of introduction they needed to feel at home. At Christmas and all summer long, they loved to sit on the sunny front veranda and chat to the numerous passers-by who came and went on foot and cruised slowly in vehicles along the street.

Some of the villas along Franklin Rd take the friendly spirit to extremes - they are built so close together that you can almost reach out and touch your neighbour through the window. Parking space is also at a premium, being so close to the city. Surrounded by a generous amount of land, this home is an exception. There's plenty of room in the garden for children to play and for adults to enjoy dining alfresco. Ample parking is available both down the driveway and in a parking bay at the rear. The current owner has converted an historic coach-house at the bottom of the property into a two-roomed office, and visiting clients are never stuck for somewhere to put the car.

Everything about the house is generous, from the broad central hallway to the living areas and bedrooms.

Traditional character is retained in the kauri floorboards and Victorian brass and glass globe light fittings in the rose-painted hallway. A skylight built over the far end of the hallway has created a small conservatory between the kitchen and dining area. Filled with tropical pot plants and a bubbling fountain, this garden focal point helps draw visitors down to the lounge.

Once a rear veranda, the room overlooking the garden and city beyond has been enclosed as a dining space and the floors tiled. Windows wrap around the room, capturing the sun as it moves to the north. Once they have dined, visitors can relax in front of the fire in the substantial adjoining lounge.

Open-plan living dominates in Ponsonby homes, so it's quite refreshing to discover a totally separate kitchen. This large room, across the hall from the dining room, offers loads of cooking and bench space. If the whole street came for dinner at Christmas, there would be no problem cooking the turkey in the sturdy, freestanding stainless-steel Smeg oven with extractor above.

The three bedrooms have large enough proportions to carry bold, traditional colours. On the northern side, flooded with sunlight through a big bay window added in the 1930s, the master bedroom is painted forest green. So too is the big room opposite, where the owners' grandchildren play games beside a coal fire. Pretty white lace curtains hang at the window of the navy-blue third bedroom, the only room that is carpeted.

In addition to the en suite bathroom off the master bedroom, a family bathroom features tall Shaker-style storage cabinets, inset with frosted glass, and a matching vanity. Another toilet under the house in the laundry is a short dash from the office. The vast space beneath the house has been used as storage and a workshop or studio.

Maintaining a sense of history in this go-ahead inner-city suburb, this old villa makes a big, warm, comfortable and inviting place for a gregarious family to call home.

Vital statistics

Address: 27 Franklin Rd, Ponsonby.

Features: Three-bedroom villa with traditional decor; sought-after street with community spirit, close to city; master bedroom with dressing room and en suite; separate dining room, lounge and kitchen; two-roomed coach-house with good parking; laundry with toilet plus studio under house; central heating; two working fireplaces.

Size: 612 sq m.

Auction: September 13 at All Saints Church, Ponsonby.

Agent: Ann McDonald, Ray White Realty Solutions. Ph 376 2186 bus; 376 0699 ah; 021 650 900 mob.