Parnell: Updated to Perfection

VICKI HOLDER visits a former ugly duckling which has been given a second chance to shine.

Renovated from the ground up, this stately home looks just as it might have done when it was built in 1929.

Fringed by a profusion of pretty rose gardens, it stands tall and proud behind iron fencing along a prominent Parnell avenue. Yet it was in a forlorn state when energetic owners Jill Payne and Trevor Dwerryhouse purchased it with a view to a monstrous makeover in 1995.

Originally built for the Brody family who were well-known city publicans, it was designed by architect Frederick Brown. He was responsible for several other grand homes on the city fringe. In 1942, Father Brody died and the family trust organised to divide up the home and turn it into flats to house the three Brody daughters. It remained tenanted and languished without much care until 1995.

Jill and Trevor enlisted the help of architects Andrew Patterson and Peter Eising to revive the home for comfortable, modern, family living with large, flowing, light-filled spaces. "We wanted to bring it back as close to how it might have been in 1929 but with all the latest contemporary conveniences," says Jill.

Unfortunately, that meant rebuilding almost everything and removing many walls that had been tacked up to squeeze in more tenants. The only part of the house that wasn't touched, they say, was the piles.

For a seamless link between the old and new, a fortune was spent in recreating skirtings and mouldings to match those of the original.

Plenty of beautiful detail was salvaged to ensure the house was enriched with classical character. For example, the original timber floors flow throughout the downstairs, and the oak and rimu panelling in the stairway and dining room has been revived for a pristine antique appearance.

A new curved china cabinet built into the panelling of the dining room marries with the period design, sporting bronze tassel-like door pulls.

Sprawling the width of the room, the timber fireplace with a large fixed mirror above was also an existing element. However, a gas fire was installed for ease and convenience when entertaining guests for dinner parties. Through bevelled glass cavity doors, travertine stone surrounds a fireplace in the large adjoining formal entertainment lounge. Both fireplaces set a beguiling mood in winter, but the house is never cold as it is centrally heated throughout.

Pale maize-hued living areas flow from a grand entrance foyer. A large opening beckons guests straight into the lounge with its big bay window and leadlights. The lounge in turn unfolds to the dining room, which opens to a sunroom that looks out to a succulent garden through a series of whitney windows on three sides. It is through this room - along an internal passage which comfortably accommodates the dog at night - that the owners access the new double garage. The original garage was demolished to make way for a private garden courtyard off the family room.

Once a maze of about six poky rooms, the new family living space is generous with tall plaster ceilings, where the detail has been cleverly matched to the original ceilings. The room spills out through bifold doors to a deck and landscaped gardens enclosed by a traditional gatehouse that marks the entry to the front garden.

To the rear of the family space, a new sage green kitchen looks over a smooth Tasmanian blackwood breakfast bar. All the benchtops are built of the same beautiful timber. It even appears around the large sink in the big laundry that opens to the deck.

As well as substantial family and formal living areas, a large study beside the front door doubles as a private retreat where Trevor likes to put his feet up and watch television.

Broad stairs lead to five bedrooms on the level above, several still complete with their tongue-and-groove-lined wardrobes. An elegant original leadlight window pours light down into the stairwell, but it is not until you turn the corner and take the top flight that you enjoy the beauty of the original oak barley twist balusters.

Several walls were removed to make sense of spaces that had been converted to encompass whole living areas with kitchens for tenants. During the rationalisation process, Jill and Trevor created great linen storage handy to all the bedrooms on the landing.

The large master bedroom suite, with dressing room and en suite, looks through beautiful, heavily padded curtains to a peek of the harbour. Bifold doors open to a private sitting area that mimics the sun porch below with whitney windows that offer plenty of sunlight.

Having invested so much energy restoring this old home, Jill and Trevor were planning to stay for a long time and have only just completed hanging sumptuous new drapes in almost every room. However, a change of direction has caught them by surprise, so now the new owners can just walk in and enjoy this magnificent home.

Vital Statistics

ADDRESS: 20 St Stephens Ave, Parnell.

FEATURES: Grand character bungalow sympathetically restored by architects Andrew Patterson and Peter Eising with landscaped grounds and a peek of a harbour view; large formal entertaining and family living spaces; sunroom off oak-panelled formal dining room; two gas fires in formal areas; central heating; study; five bedrooms, including master bedroom suite with dressing room, en suite and private sitting area; three new traditional-styled bathrooms; internal-access double garaging; ample storage.

SIZE: Land size 834sq m.

AUCTION: February 18 at Barfoot & Thompson's Chancery auction rooms.

AGENTS: Stephen Rendell and Adele Clegg, Barfoot & Thompson, Remuera. Ph 524 0149 bus; Stephen 021 949 394 mob; Adele 021 946 186 mob.