Royal Oak - Original intentions

When a couple extended their bungalow, they did the work sympathetically and carefully.

53 Forbes Street, Royal Oak.

Built in the 1930s heyday of the Californian bungalow, this elegant heritage home must be one of the luckiest bungalows around town.

Throughout its life, it has been treated to a succession of owners who have cherished its artistic integrity and renovated accordingly.

And Kim and Phil James, who bought the property 10 years ago, must be one of the luckiest bungalow renovators around. All the hard work had been done at various stages before them.

Original features including the fireplaces, the leadlight windows, timber floors and timber panelling were intact. Better still, all the timber panelling had been stripped of paint and restored to full glory.

There was even an en suite waiting for them and the kitchen came with cabinetry that a previous owner had built from left-over timber wall panelling.

So they moved in and got on with their lives for five years while they considered their options to enlarge the house to suit their growing family. They now have four boys.

Phil and Kim had considered building a second storey, but design experts told them that it could not be done without damaging the plaster ceilings and the timber walls, so they decided on the far less disruptive ground-floor extension with outstanding results.

The lounge extends the full width of the house. It opens to a deck in the rear garden, and to a beautiful covered verandah on the opposite side along from the front entrance. Complete with a plaster ceiling and cornices, this lounge has the same 3.9m stud that ties it to the rest of the house.

True to the ethic of recycling materials within the house, Phil and Kim used the panelled door from the en suite as the door linking the kitchen with the new lounge.

Outside, their attention to detail is evident in the curve of the new verandah wall, the solid pillars and the concrete steps, all of which match those in the original front verandah.

Inside, they maintained the integrity of the house by keeping the timber panelling in the en suite and new bathroom when they upgraded them with new fittings and floor tiles.

For a previous owner who had been watching the latest goings-on at No 53, this was a joy to behold. She was the one who had painstakingly stripped paint off all that wood and she was delighted to see that her hard work had been appreciated for what it added to the style of the house.

In the kitchen, Phil and Kim reused the same timber cabinetry when they reconfigured the floor plan to create a more sociable feel orientated around the breakfast bar and merging with the dining room/casual living area.

The detail is the making of this home - from the leadlight windows and their colourful fanlights right down to the panelled doors with their brass handles and fingerplates.

The generous bathroom includes a resurfaced claw foot bath that is deep enough for all the boys - Josh, 11, Sam, 8, Levi, 4, and Nathan, 1 - to pile into after a day in the playhouse that Phil built for them in the backyard.

Meanwhile, this Dad has his own play space, a workshop in the tandem-length double garage that a thoughtful previous owner had fitted with a rear garage door that opens to the back yard.

Says Phil, ``All the renovation timber came in straight through here and out to the backyard, and when we pulled up the old bricks out the back we took them through here to the front when we re-did the paving. That was just brilliant.''

VITAL STATISTICS

BEDROOMS: 4

BATHROOMS: 2

GARAGES: 2

SIZE: Land 967sq m, house 242sq m.

PRICE INDICATION: $700,000-plus. Auction Sept 6.

INSPECT: Sat/Sun 1.15-2pm or by appointment.

ON THE WEB: www.barfoot.co.nz # 347110

CONTACT: Diana Buczkowski, Barfoot & Thompson, Epsom, ph 520 6221 bus; 021 408 303 mob; 520 0842 ah.

FEATURES: Fully restored heritage Californian bungalow with original features. Two living areas, three working fireplaces and gas central heating. Flat, fully fenced corner property, extra-long double garage with workshop.