Ponsonby: Big on ideas

It was back to the drawing board for this gem of a Ponsonby home, which now oozes designer style and features.

By VICKI HOLDER.

Behind the narrow traditional facade of this Edwardian terraced house there is masses of space for a family to live and work. With half the land of your average Ponsonby section, it manages to squeeze in around double the floor area, thanks to a space defying design by its owner, architect Bruce Heslop.

Not only does the tiny property accommodate three large bedrooms in the original dwelling in front, but out the back a new building provides Bruce with a generous workspace and their teenage son a comfortable bedroom retreat.

To passersby, the house doesn't seem to have deviated too much from its original design. In reality, some radical changes have taken place. For the whole floorplan was switched to enable Bruce and his partner, Tania Riddell, to take advantage of the dramatic views over the neighbouring rooftops.

Kitchen and living areas that were once on the ground floor moved to the upper level and the bedrooms came down. The entire house was reconstructed and a large master bedroom added across the rear, opening to a small garden.

In the space above the master bedroom, a generous lounge opens to a large, private terrace. It maximises the parameters of its height-to-boundary allowance, squeezing in every inch of space possible. From this lofty west-facing perch, Bruce and Tania can savour the last of the summer sun, watching it melt in spectacular cloud formations over the adjacent park and the Waitakere Ranges in the distance.

Where the old master bedroom used to be, a dining space spills out through glazed bifold doors to an outdoor viewing platform on the new balcony facing the road. It's just wide enough to fit the barbecue, but it adds another dimension for dinner parties at night. When the city lights turn on, the Sky Tower becomes the room's talking point.

If the wind is blowing in one direction, then Bruce, Tania and the family or guests can retreat for shelter at the opposite end.

In the middle of the two living spaces, the kitchen is neatly contained behind a bench wrapped in corrugated copper and white brick tiles. The old chimney shoots up through the space to create an interesting eclectic look. Bruce has cleverly injected light into this central area by punching a window out to the side, through the wall above the stairwell. It adds space and captures light coming in through a skylight.

Pivotal to the success of the home's reconfiguration is the way the stairwell was redesigned. The narrow passage to the three downstairs bedrooms could have been dark and claustrophobic. Clever use of glass planes supported by stainless steel beams makes the traffic area from the entry feel exceptionally open, light and inviting. The glass wall abutting the stairs also resolves the safety issue, forgoing the necessity for a handrail.

A new bathroom between the bedrooms recalls original Edwardian character with a clawfoot bath and chunky pedestal basin. But once again, Bruce has garnered a greater feeling of space with bifold windows that project out to a fernery in a narrow courtyard garden.

Corrugated onduline on this fence and around the upstairs balcony helps to marry the original house with the second building, which is clad in silver onduline. The main house features a weatherboard exterior, but the new design is sympathetic to the old with an upright form and steeply pitched roof.

Adding the second building to the property has given Bruce and Tania many benefits, not just extra space and a second bathroom (under the stairs). It encloses the garden and gives privacy and shelter from the prevailing wind. Still, the garden doesn't feel particularly small. Sharing a landscape design utilising hardy natives with the neighbours makes it feel as if it is part of something bigger.

For sure, there's a lesson in urban design to be assimilated from this property. Small doesn't have to mean cramped when you live on the city fringe. With good design and by sharing and borrowing, constraints have been overcome to make this home as grand as any.

Vital Statistics

ADDRESS: 93 John St, Ponsonby.

FEATURES: Two dwellings including rebuilt original terraced house and six-year-old building with office and bedroom above; four bedrooms; two bathrooms; two living areas; small landscaped garden; balcony and terrace from main house; west-facing views.

SIZE: Floor area - house 193sq m, studio 31sq m; land area 192sq m.

AUCTION: October 27 at Meo Realty's Blake St rooms.

AGENT: Angela Saunders, Meo Realty. Ph 378 1500 bus; 021 448 900 mob.